Adding Spice
by ImouandOnee
Summary: IYYYH Crossover AU KuramaSango. After observing her from a distance, Kurama decides to make himself known to the woman. He figured that he may endanger her with his lifestyle, but he never guessed that it would be the other way around.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer-I don't own anything.

Well what do you know, its story time! This is an AU fic, but don't worry it will have a plot, and most of the original characters in both series. Sometimes the original cannon pairings can get boring, and so can the regular clichés, so this time I'm not adding either. Usually you don't see many Kurama/ Sango pairings, but if you do see them, it isn't their perspective that's being told. So this is a full Kurama/ Sango, and yes its also AU. It would be harder to word with it if were Original Universe. I think all crossovers have to have a bit of AU anyways.

About a week ago, we were given a request to write this story. So write it we shall. And I must thank the person who requested it, because it inspired me to write another fic. Lol, now I'll never get to our other ones! J/k.

Anyways,

This is for Lady Lightbulb.

Adding Spice

There she sat, as silent as the tree she was leaning up against. Her eyes were half closed, but he could see that she was watching her surroundings intently, waiting. Her brown hair was held up high in a ponytail, flowing gently with the light breeze. He was fascinated with it, just watching it as it danced around with the wind. She hadn't even realized that he was watching her either, so for the moment, he congratulated himself.

She was looking at the nearby basketball court, watching as three small boys held a competition. It baffled him on how there can be a game with just three people. His thoughts then turned to the woman by the tree. Another woman approached and sat down near her. The new arrival had long black hair, completely free of bindings.

He watched as the object of his attentions opened her cinnamon eyes fully. Her eyes were shaded by a small amount of pink eye-shadow, but it clashed wonderfully, bringing out the brown color.

He decided that watching her from afar wasn't doing any good. After all, he was a reasonably attractive man. Why would he have to just think about the girl, when he could approach her? He had been watching her for several days now. Not in the stalker type of way, but just observing. She came here at least twice a week with the boys in tow. After a quick game, the other women would appear. He was beginning to memorize the pattern.

So, today he would introduce himself. He decided it was time to put a name to the face that was beginning to haunt him. The rational part of him told him it was better this way. He shouldn't even think about bringing another into his dangerous life. He didn't want to endanger the woman, but it was driving him mad just watching her.

He got up from his bench and walked over to them. They were chatting happily so they didn't notice him. He sat down next to them. The brown haired woman jumped a bit, startled. His green eyes lit up in amusement.

"Please forgive me, I didn't intend to scare you." He told her softly. "I just couldn't help but notice you, care to share your name?"

Her eyes widened, it must have been at his long red hair. She envied it. "Oh? Yes, sorry. Sango." She said, and pointed her thumb at her companion, "This is my friend Kagome. Your name is…?"

"Shuichi Minamino, but you may call me Kurama." The red-head nodded. At least that had gone easy enough. He was about to speak some more, but another woman came into view. This one had long black hair that was tied in a loose ponytail at the ends. She looked a few years older than the two he was sitting next to.

"Kikyou!" Kagome exclaimed, "It's about time you showed up. The game's just about to start."

"It's a good thing I'm here now. Shippou would be an absolute demon at home if I were to miss it." She laughed lightly.

Kurama looked at the two. They were so much alike, it was amazing. They could have passed for twins. Their eyes told the difference, Kagome had blue, and Kikyou had a dark brown. Kikyou was also a bit paler than Kagome, more fragile looking.

Kikyou noticed him observing her, "And who might you be?" she asked.

Sango beat him to the answer, "His name is Kurama. He just surprised us by sitting down."

"Are you going to watch the game too?" Kikyou asked him.

"Who are the players?"

Kagome smiled brightly. "Here's the thing, at least once I week, we all come for a little basketball game. It does the kids good, fresh air, exercise, friends. It looks like its doing us good too, after all, we get to meet new guys." She winked at Sango, "The three players are Souta, Kohaku, and Shippou. Souta is the middle kid over there, short brown hair, brown eyes, white shirt and red shorts. You see him?"

Kurama nodded.

"Souta is mykid brother. The oldest one there is Kohaku, he's the one with brown hair in a ponytail, he's also the oldest. Kohaku is Sango's younger brother. Then the smallest one, with tan hair is Shippou, the youngest of the group. He's Kikyou's son." Kagome explained. "If you know what's good for you, you'll root for Souta." She teased.

Kurama thought a moment. The smallest one was Kikyou's son? Wasn't she a bit young to be having children? Then he noticed the gold band on Kikyou's left ring finger. So that explains it.

"I don't know why we always have these bets, Kohaku always wins." Sango grinned.

"It's because he's the tallest." Kagome reasoned, "Its nice that Kohaku always wins, that way Sango here always has to treat us to lunch."

Kurama laughed, "So that's how it is? Winner gets to pick up the tab?"

Kagome winked, "You bet! Good thing too, if I had to pay for our lunch once a week, I'd be so broke."

Sango blew a stray bang out of her face, "It isn't that bad, its not like you guys eat a lot. Its only when Kikyou's husband comes along, does it get expensive." She explained to Kurama. "You see, Inuyasha has the biggest appetite for ramen. I honestly don't know how Kikyou gets him to eat anything else."

Kikyou looked contemplative for a moment, not fully at ease with the newcomer. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'd like a word with Sango in private."

She pulled Sango aside, "Who is he?"

Sango bit her lip, "I'm not sure, he just sat down next to us."

"Do you really think we should be sharing such information with people you've just met?" she asked with an edge to her tone.

"Oh don't tell me you find him threatening."

"I don't, its just, something about him is odd. Why would he just…?" Kikyou's question was cut off by her phone ringing. "Hello?"

Sango crossed her arms, was Kikyou able to go anywhere without her husband checking up on her? Sometimes Inuyasha was as protective as a dog, though the same could be said about Kagome's significant other. Sango really didn't see what Kagome saw in him, but as long as her friend was happy, all was well.

Right on cue, she could hear Kagome's cell ringing also. Sango went back to the tree to sit next to Kurama. "Forgive my friends, they can be a bit over-protective." She told him, a bit annoyed.

"It isn't a problem. I know people like that as well, it doesn't bother me." He reassured her.

Kagome came back to the group, smiling sheepishly. "Looks like we're getting another member for an audience."

Sango groaned, not him. They had dated in high-school, but when she realized that he and Kagome had feelings for each other, she let it go. It was still a bit uncomfortable being with them though. She was over him, but his habits tended to get to her sometimes.

Kurama watched this with amusement. There was going to be conflict soon. This was interesting. He was suddenly very glad he had introduced himself. Now he was insured that a boring day was out of the question.

Kikyou then returned as well. Sango raised her eyebrows, "Inu isn't…?"

The older woman laughed, "He wouldn't ruin my day off. Besides, I didn't think you'd want to bankrupt yourself so soon in the season."

It was like Kurama wasn't even there. He didn't mind as much as he thought he would. He did feel a little guilty, this was obviously a girls outing. He felt as if he were intruding. Intruding and being ignored. Funny, that had never happened before.

Kurama stood, "Perhaps I should leave…"

Sango pulled his arm so he was sitting down again. "Nonsense, the game's barely starting." Her cinnamon eyes dancing with mirth.

He agreed for the moment, sitting down watching as the kids fought over the orange ball. Occasionally one would make a basket, getting the appropriate girl to whistle and shout small cheers.

It wasn't long before a male figure came up. His black hair was held back in a small ponytail, and he was wearing a long, dark purple coat. He noticed that his eyes were almost identical to the color of his coat. The man had two earrings in his left ear, and one in his right. All together he was an attractive guy. The girls were so into the game they didn't see him coming.

He silently walked behind Kagome, raising an eyebrow at the stranger. He shrugged his shoulders. Then he knelt down and put his hands over Kagome's eyes. "My kind lady, would you consider having my children?" he whispered in her ear.

Kagome huffed and crossed her arms. "Depends," she told him, his hands still covering her eyes, "Are you going to be a lecher your whole life?"

He laughed, letting his hands fall, "You wouldn't have me any other way."

Kagome's eyes didn't move from the court. "No, but I suppose we'll have to break your hands of your groping habit. Or break your hands, either works."

"My dear Kagome, you wound me." He laughed. "I'll allow you to make it up to me."

Kagome hummed, turning around to glare at him. "The only thing I'll be doing, Mirouku, is watching the basketball game. You're interrupting it, now hush." She put a finger on his lips and turned back around.

Mirouku shook his head, he knew better then to intrude on their day, but he couldn't help himself sometimes. He settled himself behind Kagome, with her between his legs, restingher back against his chest. He looked over at the red-haired stranger. "Forgive me, we haven't been introduced."

"Shuichi, or Kurama, whichever you prefer to call me would do fine." He told him plainly.

"Kurama?" Mirouku asked, "That's a strange nickname."

Kurama laughed nervously, "It's a long story, perhaps I can explain it another time."

Mirouku nodded, "We all have things we aren't proud of. Very well, its custom to give your name when you've received the other. I am Mirouku."

"I've gathered as much." Kurama told him.

"Will you boys shut up and watch the game?" Sango said, still not looking away.

"Competitive?" Kurama whispered to Mirouku.

His answer, "Just a tad."

………………………………………..

Well that seems like a good place to end the chapter. I'm sorry for all you Kikyou haters. I don't really have an opinion on her. I think that she's a very in-depth character, and very mysterious. I don't think she's evil, she's just very resentful. While she was alive, she was extremely kind.

Remember, this is an AU fic. I'm sorry if its not all gushy romance quite yet, but they just met remember? It needs to be developed, and developed it will be. Just give me a bit lol.


	2. Chapter Two

**Review Responses:**

**Nightfall2525- **Yes, Kurama is still a fox and Inuyasha is still half-demon.

**Lady Lightbulb- **Thank you for the review, this story is for you. I'm glad you like it.

**IceprincessAmi- **I know its Miroku and not Mirouku. It can be spelled either way. Just like Shippou can be spelled Shippo, and Kikyou can be spelled Kikyou, Sesshoumaru Sesshomaru, Yuusuke Yusuke, Youko Yoko, etc. If it offends you, I'll spell Mirouku, Miroku. Most names in the Inuyasha series can be spelled with or without the u, 'Miroku' is more common, so I guess I'll start using that.

**sweet-thing-88 –**Thank you for the review, I'm glad you like it.

**Guyute24- **Yes there are too few, and the typical crossover pairings were getting boring. Thank you for reading and for reviewing. I hope you like it.

Chapter Two:

They were sitting down at a diner across from the basketball court, and Sango was yet again, stuck paying for lunch. Fortunately for her, and unfortunately for them, her 'dearest friends' were called off. They all had busy schedules to keep, and their employer was not in the least bit understanding. The only thing good about their job, was the fact that they all worked together. They were a team, all with different jobs. Normally they would all be called off together. Today there was need for only holy powers, so only Miroku, Kagome, and Kikyou were gathered.

Sango didn't have any place to be, so she volunteered to bring the kids back to their homes. She was a bit surprised when Kurama tagged along as well. The children were ahead of them, babbling on about basketball. Shippou was complaining because of his height. Souta ruffled Shippou's hair. Kohaku stood next to them, boasting about how they could never beat him.

Sango was distracted with the boys when Kurama's voice broke through her thoughts. "Tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?" Sango asked him.

"For starters," he said, "Why don't you tell me what you do for a living?"

Sango laughed nervously, "It's really not important, we just do random jobs. We're like mercenaries, doing jobs that nobody else will do. It's not always fun, but we get the reward of helping people that need us."

Kurama sensed that she was leaving something out, but didn't want to question her. What she did for a living was her business, she was probably embarrassed by her job. He understood, his job called for things he didn't want to do also.

"What about you?" Sango asked.

"Law enforcement. I work with a detective agency." He told her. She didn't tell him the whole truth, and neither did he tell her it. Sure he worked with a detective agency, but he didn't solve normal cases. She didn't need to know that at the moment.

"A detective? That's interesting. I bet you have to keep everything a secret." She joked. 'It's the same with me.'

Kurama could sense that things were going to get uncomfortable, so he changed the subject. "How long have you known your friends?"

"For years," Sango laughed, "I've known Kagome since 8th grade. She was a year younger than I was, but we just clicked. Kagome's a really great person, happy and carefree. She's the glue that keeps our group together."

Kurama waited for her to continue, and she didn't disappoint him. He could see that this was a good topic. She was really comfortable speaking of her friends.

"Miroku was actually a year ahead of me, and two years ahead of Kagome. We were all taking a class together when we met. Miroku is a first class pervert. He introduced himself by asking for us to bare his child, then continued to grope us." She shook her head, "It ended up with Miroku having a very painful collision with my hand."

"And Kikyou?" Kurama asked.

"Kikyou is Kagome's older sister. Let's see… Kagome is twenty now, so Kikyou is twenty-six. It's shocking how they look so much alike. Kikyou was always alone, so we took her into our group. She is the kindest of us, so understanding. It takes a lot to earn her trust, but once you have it, it's hard to break."

Kurama nodded. "I know someone like that. My friend Hiei. It takes so long just to earn a little of his trust. He's sometimes cold, but he's very loyal to his friends. Though, he'd never call any of us his friends."

"Sounds like quite the character."

"Indeed he is."

They didn't talk much the whole way to the Higurashi's shrine. There wasn't much to say, they just walked and enjoyed each other's company. Occasionally they commented on the boys, and about certain parts of their lives that were able to be said. When they got to the Shrine, Kurama went his separate way.

"Perhaps we will meet again." He told her softly.

She smiled, "Maybe so."

He held out his hand, which she took. Kurama kissed the back of her hand.

"Until we meet again." He said.

She nodded, and watched as he turned around and walked away.

"You think he's cute don't you?" Kohaku teased. Sango turned a violent shade of red. "You think he's cute!"

Sango waved her hands in front of her face, "Hush, I don't even know him."

Shippou jumped up, "Yeah, but you know he's cute. Admit it!"

She coughed, "Great game today guys! Kohaku, maybe you should go easier on them…"

She watched as all three boys rolled their eyes at the same time. Sango gave them a look of disbelief. The boys were together too much for their own good. Next thing that would happen, they'd start finishing each others sentences.

Luckily, Mrs. Higurashi came to the door and saved her some embarrassment. She gave them all a smile, "Why don't you dears come inside?"

"Me and Kohaku have to get going. Kikyou asked if you could watch over Shippou until Inuyasha came over." Sango told her.

"Of course," Mrs. Higurashi smiled, "It's always wonderful spending time with my grandson."

Sango thanked her. Shippou was a handful to take care of sometimes.

…………………..

Kurama walked through the door to his office, if you could call it an office. It was more of a closet with a desk and a phone. Koenma had given it to him as a 'gift', bribing him to stay with them. After Kurama had graduated highschool, he had every intention of quitting his job as a detective, his dues being paid off. Koenma still needed him, or at least said he did. They hadn't gone on a case in months.

All had been silent around the agency. He hadn't seen Hiei in weeks, Yuusuke was always found around Keiko, and Kuwabara was off in college. Everybody was so busy lately. Everybody but him, he was free to do what he pleased. He didn't have much to do, so he often found himself in boredom-lane. Kurama wished a case would come up just so he'd be able to keep busy.

Yuusuke had finally pestered Koenma enough it seemed. They were all getting a paycheck now, regardless of whether or not work was done. It was a paycheck of considerable size as well. They went on dangerous jobs, they would be properly paid for them. They were risking their lives for people that didn't even know they existed. It wasn't fun being a hero for people that didn't deserve one.

His thoughts brought him back to Sango. She was a beautiful person, and he could tell she was just as beautiful on the inside. She was hiding something though, and he was going to find out just what it was.

He couldn't be angry with her for being secretive. He was also keeping secrets. He couldn't just tell her his occupation the first time he met her. What would he say? "Hey, I work for a detective agency in Spirit world, solving cases that involve demons. My employer is King Yama's son. So want to go to dinner tonight?" He laughed.

"What's so funny Kurama?" Koenma asked, startling him. He hadn't even realized that the Demi-God was in there. Since when was Koenma able to hide himself so well? Then again, Koenma had been different lately.

Ever since he found out that the reason for many of Ningenkai's problems, he had been acting strangely. King Yama had caused many troubles in Ningenkai, many things that the detectives had to fix. Those things included letting the barrier slip, and letting demons into Ningenkai. Koenma wasn't very happy with that either.

Now Koenma was able to stay in his adult form, no longer needing his toddler form. His adult form made him look more threatening sometimes. Like when he was angry. Like right now, Kurama could see he was very angry.

"What is it?" Kurama asked, curious.

"What is it! There was a demon loose, and I couldn't find Yuusuke to get to it!" Koenma said.

"Was?"

"Yes! There _was_ a demon loose. For some reason, it's been exterminated. We don't know who did it either, it was there one minute, and then in ashes the next!" Koenma said, his voice raising, "It isn't the first time this has happened either! For months occurrences like this have been happening, and we haven't been able to see who's behind it."

Kurama noticed that the demi-god was quickly going into hysterics over this. But with most of what Koenma said, there was something hidden in there. He wasn't disappointed this time either.

"You mean, that for months this has been happening, and just now you're letting me know?" Kurama asked, raising an eyebrow.

Koenma laughed nervously, and scratched the back of his head, "I didn't think it was important until now."

Kurama shook his head, "Where is the team?"

"Yuusuke is at home, most likely asleep. Kuwabara is in class. Hiei… is most likely still in Makai with Mukuro." He told him.

"When do we begin?"

Koenma smiled widely, "I knew you'd understand, Kurama. Now first…."

……………….

Kagome came into her and Sango's shared apartment, and plopped down on the couch. She leaned her head back, covering her eyes with her arm. She groaned loudly. Sango sat down next to her.

"Long mission?" Sango asked her.

"Not really. It only took two ofudas and three arrows, and it was dust." She said.

"Then the problem was?"

"Those giant trolls were there again!" She whined, "Its so hard trying to purify something when you're hiding from those stupid trolls."

"Ogres," Sango corrected her, "Trolls are much uglier."

"Well these 'ogres' are pretty ugly. Why do they keep following us, Sango?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, maybe they want to catch us in the act or something. Or maybe somebody has a secret admirer." She teased.

Kagome removed her arm, and full faced grinned at Sango. "If anybody has a secret admirer, it's most likely you. Who was that guy?"

She shrugged, "I have no idea. That was strange, don't you think?"

"Maybe," Kagome said, "But he was gorgeous! Those green eyes were amazing, and his red hair. I want hair like that!"

Sango watched as Kagome's eyes got wide and dreamy. She decided that she should stop this before her friend started drooling. "Did the boss say anything about the ogres?"

"Sesshoumaru? Not really, but he's curious about them. He said he wasn't threatened, so I suppose it isn't that big of a deal." She rolled her eyes, "He's not threatened because he doesn't have to deal with them. For being as almighty as he is, he sure doesn't do a lot."

"No," Sango said, "He does stuff when it's dangerous. You know he's taken jobs with us a number of times."

"Important ones, yes. When it comes to something gross and 'unimportant', he calls us in." Kagome wiped her brow, "And this one was really gross. It was huge, brown, green horns all over the place, and had horribly bad breath. Oh, Sango, it was disgusting."

"It's a paycheck, so don't complain." Sango told her.

Kagome picked up the nearest book and threw it at her. When it didn't hit, Sango stuck her tongue out at her. Kagome muttered something about it not being a boomerang.

"Why were the Holys called only?" Sango asked.

Kagome shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure. I think it may have been more aura than strength. The Combats weren't needed."

Sango nodded, it was understandable. Under Sesshoumaru's organization there were three classes. The Combats were the muscle of the group. The Holys dealt with purification and anything else spiritual. Then there was the Youkai, who dealt with whatever was handed to them. There were only nine of them, so it was pointless to put it into classes. It did make it slightly easier when assigning jobs came in though. Some people were even in two classes.

The Combats included Sango, Kohaku, and Inuyasha. The Holys were Kikyou, Kagome, and Miroku. The Youkai were Sesshoumaru, Kouga, and Ayame. Most of the Youkai also fit into the Combats category.

"Where is Kohaku?" Kagome asked.

"He's at home with Father. I need a break from him. We've had him over for about a week now." It was true, too. Kohaku was having trouble sleeping, often having nightmares. Sango's presence dulled them a bit, so he was spending the nights with her.

His nightmares were getting so bad, that he and Sango had to share a bed. He would always wake up screaming, and then bursting into tears. It was killing her to see her brother in so much pain.

"It isn't getting better, is it?" Kagome asked softly.

She shook her head, "No, it's only getting worse. What are causing these dreams?"

"I don't know. If you'd like, I could purify them out."

Sango shook her head again, "I want him to get rid of them the natural way."

"That would probably be best, he's subjected to enough supernatural things as it is."

"Is that what is causing this? Maybe I should pull him out of our group. He's wonderful with his chain-scythe, but it's so dangerous. You think it'll leave an imprint on his psyche? He's only twelve…" she said.

Kagome wrapped an arm around her, "Maybe you should talk to him about it first." She sighed. Kagome wished she could help out her friends, but there wasn't anything she could do.

Before either could say anything else, the phone rang. Kagome went to get it.

"If it's Miroku, no he can't come over." Sango teased.

Kagome put a finger to her lips and picked up the phone, "Higurashi and Taijiya."

"Taijiya and Higurashi!" Sango commented, still teasing her.

Kagome groaned, "Hi Sesshoumaru….Yeah, like I said it went fine… yes, the trolls were there again… What? Why would they be…?"

Sango raised an eyebrow, and Kagome signaled for her to be quiet.

"I see, I'll tell her. You don't need us for anything tonight do you? Alright, Goodnight Sesshoumaru."

"What did he say?"

"He investigated, imagine that, Sesshoumaru actually doing something," Kagome laughed, "He investigated those stupid ogres. It turns out they're lackeys from Reikai."

"Why would Reikai be interested in us?"

"He doesn't know. He does know, is that the ruler of Reikai isn't too happy about us exterminating these demons. Reikai is under new management now it seems, and they're trying to keep track of everything. So evading their spies isn't something that goes well with them." Kagome told her.

"Understandable. They must think we're doing it on purpose too. I've never angered a God before, this should be fun." Sango grinned.

…………..

Alright, a slightly longer chapter for you guys. I stop at the worst places. But if I don't stop somewhere, I'd probably never find a good enough spot to stop. I know you'd probably prefer me going on with it, but if I never stopped, you'd never get a chapter.

ImouandOnee


	3. Chapter Three

Review Responses

**Dark Inu Fan**- Thank you for the review.

**Guyute24**- Hm… I have thought about that, and yes Naraku will be making an appearance. He won't be showing up for another few chapters though. I'm happy you like it. Thanks!

**Inuyasha'sMYlover**- Nice penname Thanks for the review! Update or else? giggles I don't want to know what the "or else" is, so I guess I'll be updating. Watch I get shot…

**Youkosangohiei-** Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**_Lady Lightbulb-_** As always, thanks for the review. Yes Kuwabara is in college, that's how the manga ended, so I decided to put it in the story as well. Yes, the other detectives will be showing up. Maybe even in this chapter… I'm happy you like my fic so much.

**Mina- **Thanks for the review!

Chapter Three: The Hunting Being Hunted.

Hiei slumped against the tree he was currently sitting in. Usually Hiei didn't 'slump' but this was a special occasion. The fire-ice demon was bored. Really bored. Life with Mukuro proved to be both uneventful and extremely easy.

If he wanted anything, it was there before he said anything about it. He snapped his fingers and an army was at ready. He didn't have to say anything, and all his needs were taken care of. Although Hiei didn't talk much as it was, he didn't like not needing to talk.

At first it was great. He was in control of anything he wanted. Well, everything that wasn't under Mukuro. He lived in a great palace in the northeastern part of Makai. Lower youkai served him any way they could. He had everything he wanted before. He didn't want it now.

Sure, he had worked hard to get to where he was now. He had slaughtered many ruthlessly. He had undergone the extremely painful surgery for the Jagan. He did monstrous things. All of this was done for power. Power he now had.

He realized that it wasn't enough. He wanted nothing more than to just go out and kill something. It didn't matter what it was, but he was desperate for bloodshed. He wanted the thrill of the hunt, and the satisfaction of the kill. Hiei had others to do this for him now. 'What a fine way to die.' He thought sarcastically, 'I always dreamed of being killed by a youkai stronger than me. I never thought I'd die of boredom.'

Right now, he had just barely escaped the servants. Escaping Reikai took little effort. But when it came to loyal servants, it was a bit more of a task. Who would have guessed?

Hiei huffed in irritation. Why wasn't he content with what he had now? He knew why he wasn't happy, that was simple. He was never happy, so why would he change now? But what he wanted to know was why he wasn't content.

It was all supposed to be easy now. It was all easy now. That was the problem. It was all too easy. If something was easy, there was nothing to be gained from it. Hiei had learned that lesson at an early age.

Mukuro was most gracious the entire time. Speaking of which, she was now approaching the tree he was currently residing in. She looked up at him.

"What is it?" She asked, "Have you not everything you need?"

He could hear the concern in her voice, but he brushed it off. He was irritated, he didn't want to deal with anybody at the moment.

"That's the problem." He spat, "I have everything I need."

She nodded, "Everything you need, but nothing that you want?"

"Hn."

"I see." She sighed. "If it makes you feel better, you received a summons today."

Hiei sat up straight, "A summons?"

"It seems that Kurama is in need of you. A messenger arrived earlier this afternoon, but you were nowhere to be found." Mukuro gave him a pointed glare.

Hiei smirked. He nodded, telling her to continue.

"Reikai is having a bit of trouble these days. A group of exterminators that they can't track down is causing quite an uproar. These exterminators keep doing Reikai's job for them. They're having a difficulty tracking them down." She explained.

"Hn." He crossed his arms and settled into the tree, "I'll be gone tonight." He didn't have to tell her any of his plans, but he may as well let her know he wasn't going to be there. Mukuro was smart, she could figure out enough on her own.

She nodded, "You are welcome here when you return." She turned away from him and left.

He narrowed his eyes. When he returned? She should change that to 'if'. Here was great, but if he preferred the detective work, he would return to it. Having servants didn't suit him.

Hiei stood up. If these people were doing Reikai's job, why would they want to stop them? Koenma was loosing his mind. He braced himself, and in a flash he was gone.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

An enormous tree stood on shrine grounds. A tree by the name of Goshinboku, the Holy God Tree. The tree that provided comfort to all who came to it. People surrounded this tree. By the looks of it, a meeting was taking place.

Two women who looked alike were leaning against it, the older one crossing her arms. One was wearing priestess clothing that dated back to Feudal Japan. The other, younger woman was wearing a college uniform much like that of which she wore in high school. A man dressed in a purple trench-coat was lounging lazily against the girl's legs, eyes closed seemingly in a meditative state.

A man with long white hair and dog ears was perched in a branch not far from the ground, dressed in all red. A woman with brown hair in a high ponytail was sitting on the ground, with her arm over her brother's shoulders. Both siblings wore Taijiya outfits.

The wolves were there also, standing across from each other. Their fur decorating their bodies, showing which wolf belonged to what pack. The red-haired pigtailed white wolf had her arms crossed, glaring at the brown wolf across the way.

Then in front of all, a Taiyoukai stood in all his glory. His long white hair flowing gently with the slight breeze, his long tail draped over his shoulders doing the same. He was in full control of the group in front of him. He was respected by all, even if none of them admitted it.

This group of people had more or less grown up together. The miko sisters, Kagome and Kikyou. The perverted Miroku, a man with holy powers. Inuyasha, the Inu-Hanyou. The Exterminator siblings, Sango and Kohaku. The wolves Ayame and Kouga, both from different packs. And the leader, Sesshoumaru, the heir to the Great Inu-no-Taisho, and half-brother to Inuyasha.

Living on a shrine all their lives proved to be beneficial to Kikyou and Kagome. They were taught archery from their grandfather, and how to channel their holy energy from their mother. Kikyou was a master at both, she was a natural. Kagome still had a bit of trouble with the bow, and could only channel her energy into an arrow.

Miroku's father was a close family friend of the Higurashi's, so Grandfather Higurashi had taken him under his wing. Though Miroku had a lot more skill with the ofuda's than his teacher.

Sango and Kohaku had taken classes in combat at their fathers request. The world was a dangerous place, he wanted his children to be able to protect themselves. He had sent them away almost every summer to train in the woods with an old Youkai Exterminator. Sango had favored the bone boomerang. It was heavier than a huge boulder, but eventually she built up enough strength to wield it. Kohaku was more of a fan of the scythe, mainly because it was his first weapon, and also because he had extreme skill with it.

Ayame was from a white-wolf youkai pack up in the northern mountains. Her grandfather wanted her to get a good education so she could eventually lead the pack herself. He also wanted her to find a strong male to lead it with her.

Kouga was from the western mountains. He was due to be pack leader when he returned. He was having enough fun in the city, and wasn't planning on returning until he had to. His father was still alive to watch over it until he needed to.

Both wolves were able to pass off their fur and tails as a fashion statement. After all, there were weirder things in the world. Humans tended to make up excuses to rationalize what they don't understand. They looked human enough,so they didn't have any problem blending in with society.

The Inu brothers had grown up in a military family, they were trained in everything combat. Both were also extremely intelligent, having been taught everything under the sun as soon as they were of age.

Youkai were more common than humans liked to believe. They could be sitting next to you on a bus, and you wouldn't even know it unless they told you. Even then you may not even believe them. As it was at the moment, four youkai, five humans, in front of the Goshinboku.

The Taiyoukai had just finished giving orders. They were to go hunting again tonight. Their adversary was wicked, and needed to be stopped as soon as possible.

The male wolf strode over to the younger miko, completely disregarding the glaring monk at her feet. "Ah, Kagome!" Kouga said, enveloping her hands with his, "Looks like we're grouped together!"

"Yeah, looks like it." She sweat-dropped.

Miroku was all but growling. He grabbed his staff, fully preparing to hit Kouga with it.

"Oi! Leave her alone you mangy wolf!" Inuyasha piped in. The two didn't like each other much, but in battle they could count on each other.

Sango rolled her eyes at the petty argument. Kouga had been after Kagome since as long as she had known the two. Seeing how Kagome was like a little sister to Inuyasha, he was always out to protect her. Inu-youkai were possessive. Since Inuyasha and Kikyou married, Kagome became family to him. The only male figure he even tolerated near her was Miroku. She didn't understand that, sometimes Miroku was definitely worse than Kouga.

Sango cleared her head and tried to focus on tonight's mission. Tonight was going to be important, they were going to track down Naraku and end his life. His life needed to be ended. He was quickly gaining power, and nobody knew from what. Naraku was powerful enough to create others from his body now. That was a trick in itself trying to find them all. They had tracked them down so that only three remained. Only three that they knew of anyways, there could be thousands more without their knowledge.

They were going to be split up to try to track him down faster, they could cover more ground in groups. Kagome, Miroku, Kohaku and Kouga were the first group, Inuyasha, Kikyou, Sango, and Ayame were the second. Sesshoumaru would go out on his own, he was powerful enough as it was.

"You will report to me if you find him. His head will be mine." Sesshoumaru explained calmly. "I tire of his games, they will end."

Everyone nodded. Naraku had taken something very precious from Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru didn't care for much, but when he did care for something, it was an extreme feeling. Naraku had ripped that from him, and he would suffer for it. Naraku would beg for death by the time Sesshoumaru had him, and not receive it until he felt the full pain he inflicted upon others.

Sango fiddled with her ponytail. Why did something seem different about this night? She was suddenly very nervous about the events unfolding. Naraku was dangerous, and he had strong allies now. Allies that were made from his own flesh, but powerful all the same.

"Suit up." Sesshoumaru told them, "We will meet at dawn. I trust you know your posts."

Kagome tightened her quiver on her back, with her bow in hand, she stood next to Miroku. He nodded at her reassuringly, briefly giving her a small grope, but taking his hand away before he was slapped. Kouga was already ready, he didn't need anything more than his claws. Kohaku smiled weakly at his sister. The kid was scared, but he would bury his fear for her. He tucked his scythe in his belt next to his sword. Kohaku nodded at his group, telling them he was ready.

Kagome embraced Sango tightly, then Kikyou. "Be safe." She whispered in their ears.

Kikyou smiled, "You as well." Sango just nodded.

Miroku smiled widely at them. "Farewell!"

Kouga grunted his goodbyes, and they were off to the north

Sango tightened her straps to the boomerang on her shoulder. Kikyou stood straight with a calm look on her face. Inuyasha was next to her, making sure Tetsusaiga was held securely at his waist. Ayame pulled a leaf out of her hair, readying it if need be. They gave Sesshoumaru a nod, and walked south.

Once Sesshoumaru was sure they were gone, he went off to the west in a flash of white light. "Tonight I shall take my revenge on you Naraku. You will regret taking Rin from me."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

An irate young man dressed in jeans and a blue jacket stormed into Spirit World. His gelled hair was slightly coming undone with his fast movements. "This is _not_ a good time, you stupid Toddler!" Yuusuke yelled, "Keiko and I were just…"

"Discussing wedding plans." Koenma finished, "You forget who you're talking to. And I thought I told you to stop calling me Toddler! I've grown out of that phase now."

Yusuke rolled his eyes, "Whatever. What the hell is the problem now?"

A man with vibrant red hair and green eyes chuckled slightly from the display before him. A man with the word Jr. on his forehead glaring at a boy just barely out of his teens, both were nose to nose yelling at each other.

"It seems there is someone out to steal our job from us." Kurama explained.

"Goody, let them have it." Yuusuke said sarcastically. "I don't see why we have to go stop them."

A black blur entered the room, "Neither do I. I just hope its more challenging then our previous missions."

Kurama's eyes widened, "Hiei. I was not expecting you to come."

"Hn."

"Great, a party." Yuusuke rolled his eyes. "Now all we need is Kuwabara. It's High-school all over again."

"Actually Yuusuke, Kuwabara will not be joining this mission." Koenma informed him, "His studies are important right now, and we don't know how strong this threat is."

"Or, if there's a threat at all." Kurama added.

For all in the room, including Koenma, this was a pointless mission. But those people needed to be found. They couldn't just go and mess with the plans of Reikai. Things were just not done that way. Regardless of them being the cause for the balance of youkai and humans, they needed to be found. The mystery group had a reason for doing what they did, now it was up to the detectives to find out what it was.

Perhaps this group could even be a valuable ally. If not, their threat would have to be diminished as soon as possible.

"I want you all to scout the city tonight. These people have been showing up in random places, so I can't give you a solid location." Koenma told them, "Their numbers are also unknown…"

"We don't even know how many there are?" Yuusuke asked, "Wonderful, we're going out there blind."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Hiei added.

Nor would it be the last. Koenma had a knack for sending them out with any information. But they've all survived up until this point… except Yuusuke, but he was always brought back.

"So we're randomly searching the city?" Kurama raised a brow, "We don't have any information on them. Suppose we do find them, how will we know who they are?"

"I'm not the detective here!" Koenma exclaimed, "You figure it all out."

"Just what is wrong with you?" Yuusuke asked, narrowing his eyes and forming his mouth into a thin line, he turned to Kurama, "He sick?"

Kurama shook his head. Koenma was acting differently, but he did not smell of illness. Could a God even get sick? Maybe he was just stressed, he had only just recently begun to take over Reikai on his own.

"They must have high energy levels, so let's just watch for that." Kurama told them. If these people could escape Spirit World's surveillance, they must be extremely skilled. What was Koenma thinking sending them out on their own?

Hiei turned to leave, "Let's get this over with."

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Well I hoped you liked the chapter, if you did, review! I did my best to explain how the world is, to give you a bit of background info before I go all out in the next few chapters. I can't reveal it all at the moment, otherwise the plot would be poof. Gone like ashes in the wind. If you're confused on anything, just as a question and I'll do my best answer it, (assuming it doesn't involve something that I don't want revealed until later.)

Imouto-chan.

ImouandOnee


	4. Chapter Four

**_Warning_**: I have decided that there will be character deaths in this story. Don't get scared, it's only a few. Angst is a dish best served cold, and I'm one of those people who like a good bowl of angst-ice cream. I think that sadness makes people appreciate the joy when it comes to it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_I didn't say all the things that I wanted to say_

_And you can't take back what you have taken away._

_Cause I feel you…_

_I feel you near me…_

Plummet- Damaged.

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Chapter Four

"Damn it." The inu-hanyou groaned, "Things just get better don't they?"

They were in the middle of town, surrounded by civilians, and Kagura had made an appearance. It seemed to be a habit of hers, showing up in the most crowded places. Sesshoumaru had advised against this, there would be no innocent bystanders when in battle. Inuyasha just hoped that he could manage a fight in a closed space nearby.

She blended in with the crowd, the only thing setting her apart were her red eyes. Her smell too, Inuyasha would know her scent anywhere. It was the exact same scent as her maker. Naraku. Just the name brought a growl to his throat. After the Rin incident, they would forever be rivals with the spider.

"Yo. Inuyasha," Kagura laughed scornfully, "What a surprise running into you like this. It's wonderful to see you. Of course, I prefer seeing you broken. Let's get on to that, shall we?"

She pulled out her fan, poising it to strike. Inuyasha looked around for a clearing, anywhere that didn't have civilians. He didn't have any luck. Even with his enhanced vision, he couldn't see a place away from people.

Inuyasha felt a slight tingling of power forming behind him. He glanced back, at Kikyou. He nodded at her slightly. His pride swelled at how quick she was to react to things. He knew what she was doing, but would she be able to do it in time without Kagura noticing? He would just have to distract her.

"What happened to your little master? Hakudoushi, was it? You're normally following him around, obeying his orders." Inuyasha sneered, "What happened, he let his servant have a day off?"

'Take the bait…' Inuyasha thought, 'C'mon, reach out and…'

Kagura didn't disappoint him. "I am _not _that child's servant!" She growled out, her hands shaking with rage.

Inuyasha nearly laughed when Sango joined in. Usually Sango kept quiet and did what was needed of her, but this time she was going full-frontal. Inuyasha grinned. His humans were so clever.

"You aren't his servant?" Sango challenged, "He gives you the most horrible demand, and you comply. Sounds like a slave to me, what about you?"

Kagura had brought her fan up forcefully, "I will make you eat your words." She brought down her fan quickly, "Dance of Blades!"

The distraction had bought Kikyou all the time she needed. As soon as Kagura's attack came, Kikyou had a sight and power barrier erected. She had known that they couldn't draw the battle elsewhere, so she created a dome around them. The bystanders would see nothing, and wouldn't be harmed either.

Sango brought her boomerang up to shield herself from the attack. She too had known what Kikyou was up to, she felt the power. She was sure that Kagura had felt it too. If she did, why didn't she attack Kikyou to break her concentration?

Energy of that magnitude building itself up was hard to ignore. Was it that Kagura wanted the shield up? Sango shook her head. Now was not the time for twenty questions.

"How clever." Kagura grinned, "Unfortunately for you, we expected this little performance."

Kagura brought out a vial of purple dust. She opened the bottle, sprinkled some on her hand, and fanned it in the direction of Inuyasha and Kikyou. Inuyasha brought up his hand to shield from the powder. Kikyou didn't have the reflexes of Inuyasha, so it assaulted her. She started violently coughing.

Inuyasha turned to her quickly, "Kikyou!"

Kagura laughed maliciously. Inuyasha turned towards Kikyou, wanting to go to her side, but not being able to with Kagura still in battle position. Ayame sensed his distress and picked up Kikyou.

"Bring down the barrier, Kikyou." Ayame pleaded, "We can't get you out while it's up."

Kikyou shook her head, which only brought about more coughs. "No, Kagura will escape."

"Kagura always escapes, just take it down! Now, Kikyou!" Inuyasha told her, though still looking at Kagura. He was worried about his mate. If anything happened to her because he couldn't protect her well enough, he would never forgive himself.

Kikyou took the barrier down. Kagura pulled a feather out of her hair and mounted it. "Until next time!"

Inuyasha rushed over to Kikyou, and took her from Ayame's arms into his. He felt millions of eyes on his back. "Oh hell…"

Sango's head snapped around. Everyone around them had stopped what they were doing and were now staring at them. They had seen them disappear, and Kagura fly away on her feather. Thinking quickly, she started clapping her hands.

"We're performers!" She said quickly, "Magicians specializing in illusion. We do random shows."

Ayame jumped and flipped in midair, "So how did we do?"

The crowd burst out in applause. Sango and Ayame bowed low. Sango looked towards Inuyasha, "We'll take care of things here, you get Kikyou to the shrine. There's going to be a bit of trouble, so if you can, get us backup.

Inuyasha nodded and jumped off, running to the Higurashi Shrine. "Don't worry Kikyou, you'll be fine." He told her reassuringly. 'I hope.'

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hiei jumped from tree to tree, following the inu-hanyou and his precious mate. 'Reikai couldn't track down these idiots?' He could see blunders in their plans all over the place. Fighting in full view of the public? What a great move. They were making things easier for him. So far, the hanyou hadn't noticed him, he was concentrating on getting his mate to safety.

He wouldn't attack, not without gauging his opponents abilities. Besides, while the dog's mate was in danger, it wouldn't be wise to attack. Inu's were known for their possessiveness. Threatening what was theirs was like asking to be slaughtered. He doubted the dog could do much damage to him, but it wasn't going to underestimate him.

Inuyasha ran towards a shrine. Hiei raised an eyebrow at that. He saw a woman run out to meet Inuyasha, helping him carry the injured miko inside.

There wasn't much Hiei could do at the moment. So he sat down in the largest tree on the lot. He was sure that he would be seen as a threat once the hanyou sensed him, but he had a job to do.

He would investigate this group. He wasn't sure if they were the group he was sent to search for, but they were an unusual alliance. A miko, another human, a hanyou, and a ookami youkai. Who was that other youkai?

She was beautiful, but she had a horrible stench. It was obvious that she had control of the wind, but she didn't smell like an elemental normally smelled. He would know, he was around them enough. Himself and his sister both being elementals, and their scents were fine. She controlled the wind… where had he seen something like that before?

He searched for Kurama using the Jagan. 'Find anything?'

'No.' he heard Kurama mentally sigh, 'I've been searching all night. Any luck on your part?'

'Perhaps.'

'What did you find?' Kurama asked, curious.

'Two humans, an inu-hanyou, and a ookami youkai.' He told his partner, 'Battling a wind elemental in the middle of the city.'

'Where are you now?' Kurama asked. 'I'll come to you.'

'No. The hanyou's mate was injured, they're seeking refuge in a shrine.' Hiei explained. He searched for Kurama's position with the Jagan. 'There is a crowd gathering a mile south of where you are now. If you must go anywhere, go there.'

'Very well. Stay out of trouble.'

'Hn.'

Hiei masked his scent and sat in one of the highest branches of the tree. It wasn't long before he heard the woman screaming. He almost felt bad for her, it sounded like she was in a great deal of pain. It reminded him how weak humans are.

An hour after that her screams had still not subsided. The other women from the group arrived. Shortly after, the hanyou and a kitsune pup sat underneath the tree. Hiei masked his scent the best he could, and listened to their converstation.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kurama quickly ran towards the direction Hiei had given him. 'Leave it to Hiei to find what we need.' He fought back the urge to sigh. It had taken Hiei a few hours to find what had taken Reikai months to even get an idea about.

Hiei was right, there was indeed quite a crowd. They were surrounded two figures he couldn't quite see from his distance. He tried to push through the people, but they were so tightly packed he couldn't really get anywhere.

He heard a woman's voice call out, "That's it for today! Now if you'll kindly excuse us, Taijiya-san and I must be on our way…"

The crowd started complaining, so the woman said, "Fine, one more trick, and that's it for today! Now, you'll see Taijiya-san get on my back. We're outta here! Sayonara!"

He saw a pigtailed redhead jump into the air with another woman on her back. She pulled out a leaf, and in a cloud of smoke, they were gone.

That may have fooled others, but it didn't fool Kurama in the least bit. He noticed the pair running off on the sidelines. Rather quickly running, too. The rumor about wolves' speed wasn't a false one.

He ran after them, intent on finding out who they were. He got close enough to see them, the woman on the wolf's back looked oddly familiar. Before he could get any closer, a figure clad in white appeared in front of him.

"What do you suppose you're doing?" the man asked him bitterly.

"Who are you?" Kurama asked.

"That is of no concern to you, Kitsune." He told Kurama in an emotionless tone, "You will explain to me why you were following my girls."

"_Your_ girls?"

The man nodded. "I will not repeat myself."

"I am a talent scout interested in their act." Kurama lied. If they were going to parade themselves as performers, he could work with that.

"You dare lie to this Sesshoumaru?" he growled.

Kurama's eyes widened. 'The Prince of the Dogs?' There were rumors dating back to his days as Youko of this youkai. Nobody dared to challenge him. His power rivaled Kurama's and Hiei's combined, and he was extremely ruthless.

Kurama bowed low, "Forgive me, I didn't realize…"

"You will not attempt to approach them again." Sesshoumaru told him, leaving no room for argument. He turned and walked away, confident that Sango and Ayame were at the shrine.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Kagome's group had a bit more luck in finding a suitable battleground, but they were having a bit more difficulty with their adversary.

Kagome dodged the puppet's tentacles again. For the length of the battle, the puppet had only been targeting her. Kouga had gathered her in his arms and set her at a safe distance away, and jumped back into battle.

Miroku swung his staff at the puppets head, if he could decapitate it, the battle would be theirs. Kohaku threw his scythe in a round-about, cutting off the tentacle aimed towards Kagome's current position. She signaled them for move aside, and she let an arrow fly.

The puppet disintegrated, leaving only a wood carving in its place. Kagome wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Miroku picked up the wooden puppet, breaking it in half. He threw it to the side and walked over to Kagome.

"It's funny how he's our rival, and we've never really seen the real him." She sighed. "It's only those stupid puppet things."

Miroku sat down next to Kagome, throwing his arm around her waist. He hugged her to him gently. He hated seeing her in danger. The only good thing about it was that it motivated him to fight harder. It motivated him to be better, so that he could protect her.

She rested her head on his shoulder. Kohaku sat next to her. He grinned and put his head on her shoulder, just as she was to Miroku. He put his arm around he shoulders, so they were in a half-huddle. Kouga laughed and lay on his back in the grass, breathing in the night.

"I get so tired of those things," Miroku said, "We've been fighting them more and more lately."

Kohaku nodded, "How many is that now?"

"At least twenty combined." Kouga answered. He sniffed the air, "Something's coming…"

"What is it?" Miroku asked, "Dangerous?"

"No." Kouga shook his head, "It's a damn human."

Sure enough, a young man walked out into the clearing. His black hair was slicked back, and he was wearing a pair of jeans with a blue jacket. "It's a bit late to be having a picnic, isn't it?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Inuyasha heard Sango and Ayame enter, but he didn't acknowledge their presence. His ears were matted down to his head, his shoulders drooped. Shippou was in his lap, crying his eyes out. They still hadn't figured out what was wrong with Kikyou. Her coughs were getting more violent by the minute, and now she was hacking up blood.

Mrs. Higurashi had forced him out of the room, he wouldn't be able to help with what they were doing. She had told him that there was a way that they could get the poison out of her, but it wouldn't be pleasant. He was outraged when he learned of what they were going to do, but he couldn't tell them no. He had spent a half an hour pounding at her door, demanding to be let in. The noise had woken Shippou, so he gave up on the attempt to get to Kikyou, and took up comforting his son.

"How is she?" Sango asked lightly.

He sighed, "It isn't looking good. Whatever that powder was, it wasn't good. She breathed in a lot of it. They're trying to purify it out of her… but its…"

Kikyou screamed in agony, which caused Shippou to cry harder. Inuyasha felt so helpless. "Damn it." He whispered. He knew how painful it was for her. She had a foreign substance in her body, and it was trying to fight it off. Her mother and grandfather were in there using all the purifying techniques that they knew of, but it was only making it worse.

There was a war going on in Kikyou's body. A war he couldn't help her fight. Inuyasha cursed himself, he couldn't protect her from it. He couldn't take away the pain she was in, and he didn't prevent it from happening.

She screamed again. Inuyasha picked up Shippou. "I need to get the pup away from this. If anything happens, come get me."

He walked out with Shippou in his arms, and sat underneath the Goshinboku. He set Shippou in his lap and cradled him to his chest. "She's going to be okay, pup."

"What if she isn't?" Shippou's hiccupped.

"Don't talk like that." Inuyasha growled, then softened his voice after Shippou jumped, "She'll be okay."

"She's hurting…" he hugged Inuyasha the best he could with his tiny arms.

"I know." Inuyasha nodded solemnly.

It was silent for a few moments. Shippou was still crying, but it was quieter. His sobs were gentle hiccups. Inuyasha's heart felt like it was tearing in two.

"Could you tell me a story?" Shippou asked.

"What kind of story?"

Shippou shrugged, "Any kind, you choose."

Inuyasha nodded, "Okay. Have you heard the story of how me and mommy met?"

"Yeah, a million times. You can tell me again."

Shippou situated himself in Inuyasha's lap comfortably. His father always knew just what to do to make him feel better. And if he said that she was going to be alright, she would be. He trusted his father, but her screams were a bit unnerving. It hurt him every time she screamed, he wanted to take his mind off of it.

"Well," Inuyasha started, "We met in highschool. I didn't have many friends, and I just sort of followed your mother around. I had a crush on her, and I hoped that one day she would notice me. I was lonely, and I guess so was she. We clicked though, spending almost every waking hour together. That's when I meant Aunt Kagome and her friends too.

"So finally, I asked your mom to marry me. Your great-grandfather didn't like that at all. He wasn't as kind back then as he is now. He hated demons, and since I was half-demon, we didn't get along. It took a long time, but he gave in and let us wed. We tried to have a baby, but couldn't. So we adopted you, it was the best decision we ever made."

"Yep, you'd be lost without me." Shippou joked.

"You're such a squirt."

"You love me anyway."

"Yeah I do." Inuyasha nodded.

Inuyasha cringed as Kikyou screamed again. Sesshoumaru appeared before them. "Our miko…?"

"Kagura doused her with some damn powder, they're trying to get it out of her. It's fuckin' poison." Inuyasha shook his head hard, "If we don't do something soon, something bad is going to happen to her."

Sesshoumaru nodded, "She will last a few more hours, I will be back in one." He turned from them and disappeared.

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Um… I'm sorry that it's been awhile since I've updated! I just got back from vacation in Arizona. The Elfridans tied me down and duct-taped my fingers together so that I could not type anything! Or something along those lines…yeah… that's what happened…

**Review Responses:**

**Guyute24- **(blush) Happy you like it (smiles widely). As always, thank you for reviewing. Wow, you've reviewed every chapter up to this one. You're so awesome.

**Shezel- **Thank you for reviewing! Yeah, they're so different and all, took me a little bit to come up with the title. It sort of has a double meaning. The one you found out about their characters, and the fact that even the crossover pairings are getting a little bland. Why not spice it up?

**Usagi the Mage- **While Kikyou was still alive, she was a very kind person. Only after being resurrected was she cold and bitter. A lot of people hate Kikyou, which is understandable because of her attitude while she was resurrected. While I don't really like the resurrected Kikyou, I do respect the one that was alive. In order for a certain part in my story to work, I'd have to have them together. I hope you continue reading it to see how it'll play out. No offense taken on the fluff opinion. I'm not quite sure what it is, but the common belief is that it's a tail, so I went with that. Thank you for reviewing.

**Ryous-Crystal- **Wow, all your friends and some people you don't even know? Looks like a lot of people will be reading my story then. Ah! Thank you!

**Sango fan!-** Thank you for reviewing.

**Gnat101- **since you asked so nicely, here's another chapter. Thank you for reviewing.

**lost-forgotten-alone-** Yep, there aren't too many KurSan's out there. Lol they're kinda like purple elephants. You hear about them, but you never really see one. Or if you do see one, they aren't really all that good. I'm glad that you like this one. Thank you!

**Easy-Company-506/101- **A hanyou rat in prince clothing, hmm. Perhaps you are right, we'll just have to see, won't we? (grins)

**_Lady Lightbulb_**- Hm. You seem to have a good sense of smell, but the question is who will be meeting who? I hope they keep getting better, and as always thanks for reviewing, even when you have huge stacks of homework.

**Tainted Shadow**: Glad you like it. Don't worry, you wont have to wait for too long, the confrontation between the two groups will come soon enough.

Imouto-san


	5. Chapter Five

Adding Spice- Chapter Five

It wasn't surprising that they had left. He had watched them give up hope on her, giving up hope that she'd live. He wanted to tell them to wait, that a cure would come. He couldn't bring himself to say it. To say that hope would come was to promise something. He tried to not make promises that he couldn't keep.

She had stopped screaming hours ago, the sounds dulling to a low whimper. He went back in the house and sat with her then. He wasn't sure what was worse- hearing her cry out, or to see her barely able to make any sound at all.

Shippou had cried himself to sleep, so Inuyasha had put him in his own bed. If she didn't make it through the night, the kid would be incredibly despaired, knowing he wasn't with his mother in her final moments. Inuyasha hoped that it wouldn't come to that. Inuyasha hoped that his brother would come in time. He hoped he could help her, but he knew that he couldn't. His constant fear was that he couldn't protect her. Perhaps facing your fears isn't all that great after all.

She coughed, he cringed. He was doing his best at keeping her awake, knowing that he would lose her if she fell asleep. He was struggling with himself on this concept. He knew that she'd be in less pain if he just let her go, but he was too selfish for that. He needed her, and he'd be damned if he gave in and gave up.

Her sister had yet to come home, and he was now worried a little more. His wife was fading, what if he lost Kagome in the same night? He briefly thought that maybe Kagome could cure Kikyou. His white hair slid over his shoulders as he shook his head. There wouldn't have been much she could do.

What he loved, was that the two sisters were so similar, but so different. They were almost identical in looks, but their personalities were completely opposite. Kikyou was reserved, soft spoken. Kagome was vibrant and loud. Under different circumstances, he could have fallen in love with Kagome. If he had fallen in love with Kagome, would Kikyou be suffering so much now? It didn't matter. He was in love with Kikyou, and he just loved Kagome. There was a difference between loving someone and being _in _love with them. That was how it was with the sisters, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

If someone were to see him now, they wouldn't see the loud, arrogant, and often rude hanyou that he normally was. No, they would find a hanyou lost in hopelessness and despair. They would see ears that were lowered to his head, almost completely invisible by blending in with his hair. They would see usually bright gold eyes filling with tears he couldn't shed. They would see a broken hanyou.

He tried to clear his head, he was grieving and she wasn't even dead yet. _Yet?_

He barely heard her voice when she spoke.

"It hurts." She told him, silently begging him to take the pain away.

"I know." _Why couldn't I have shielded you from Kagura's attack?_

"Will it be over soon?" she asked, her voice just under a whisper.

"Yes, soon." _I'll lie to you this one time._

"I'm so tired…" He could see it. Her battle was reaching its end. Her eyes were only half open, her breathing was labored, and her skin was going pale. She was going to die if something wasn't done.

"Please stay awake, Sesshoumaru will be here soon. He'll have a cure. Don't fall asleep, please don't fall asleep." _I'm not ready to lose you, damn it._

She nodded, still struggling to keep her eyes open. He was torn. He could end her pain, her existence, her warmth, her life. He could keep her awake, keep her agony, to keep her alive, to keep _her. _Would he be able to choose if the time called for it?

It seemed so long, since Sesshoumaru told him to wait for his arrival. He was late. He was needed, his solution was needed. He said that he would be back in one hour, it was going on three.

The door behind him opened. He looked up. His hopeful eyes met with shattered ones.

"You're late." Inuyasha said, turning away from those eyes. "You should have checked in if you were going to be out past midnight. Didn't your mother teach you anything?"

Kagome, seemingly out of breath, sat down next to him, "We ran into a bit of trouble is all, Kouga is dealing with it."

He regarded her carefully. She had a few leaves in her messy hair, and was still breathing heavily from running. He wondered if it was a dangerous battle briefly, before he remembered that if Kouga had dispatched the enemy, it should have been an easy kill. Still he was curious.

"What sort of trouble?"

"A puppet again, it took a bit of trouble to knock down, but we managed to get it." She sighed, "Then there was this guy who just came up to us. He was smug and full of himself, and we all know how Kouga hates people like that. So Kouga punched him, and we made a run for it. I do hope he's okay."

"Mangy wolf doesn't know when to stay out of things. Don't be surprised if he ends up missing for a week, nursing his wounds. If we're lucky, the punk you ran into will kill him." Inuyasha grinned.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded, "It isn't right to say things like that."

Their squabble was interrupted by Kagome looking towards the bed. Seeing Kikyou's pale form, she gasped loudly, "What happened to her!"

"I'm not sure. Kagura's up to her dirty tricks, made Kikyou inhale some purple powder." Inuyasha growled.

"Are you sure it was purple?"

"Are you calling me blind?" he snapped.

Kagome put her hands up in a horrible attempt to placate the fuming hanyou in front of her. "No, of course not, not at all! I was just thinking…"

They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Kagome spoke again.

"Wait," Kagome said, "Isn't Naraku's miasma purple? Is it possible that it was powdered miasma? If that's right, we could purify it out of her."

"They've tried, and _you_ are not going to try too." He said. The previous attempts at purification had failed miserably, making things worse, not better. Another purification ceremony would probably kill his wife.

"They've only purified demons. Naraku's miasma is different, and I know what to do there…"

The door opened again. "You are not going to be doing anything." Sesshoumaru told her coldly. He stepped in with a green vile in his hand, it was glowing slightly.

He walked to Kikyou, lifted her head and poured the vile into her mouth. She gagged, trying to force it out.

"It's disgusting." She said.

"It'll help." Sesshoumaru replied, "Most helpful substances are indeed putrid."

With extreme gentleness that a man of his position should not possess, he set Kikyou back down onto the bed.

"Let her sleep." He told the two, returning to his stoicism "Come, we have much to discuss."

He was out the door, not looking back to see if they were following. He already knew that they would. He almost regretted giving her the medicine without telling anybody the consequences. He knew that Inuyasha would be furious, Kagome would be confused, and Kikyou would be forever changed.

It was true that she would fully recover physically within a few hours, but mentally, the consequences could be dire. Sessoumaru normally would not take a risk such as this, but the situation had called for it. Luck allowing, nothing would happen, Sesshoumaru was in the clear. It was just a pity that Inuyasha had never been lucky in his life.

…………………………………….

Yuusuke plopped down on his couch with a bruise on his left eye and a hammering headache. He hadn't meant to cause any trouble… no trouble at all… not really. He snickered at the thought. Of course he meant trouble! He just didn't want it to leave with proof of that.

Now Keiko would see it, then she would fuss over him. Then she'd get him some ice for the other black eye she gave him for walking out on a dinner date with her parents. He could hear it already, "_Yuusuke, you jerk! We'll never get married at this rate!"_

He could probably hear it so well because at that moment Keiko was screaming it into his ear. The very sensitive ear that led straight to his throbbing head. He drowned out the rest of her lecture; he already knew what she was going to say. "_You left me there to go fight, didn't you? The least you could have done was told me where you were going so I didn't have to worry about you… my parents were outraged! Never been so insulted… blah… blah… Are you listening to me!"_

He turned to her, "Yeah, I here ya."

Expected reaction, "What happened to your eye!"

He winced at the shrillness of her voice, "I got into a fight with a wolf. He sucker punched me and I blasted him, end of story."

Keiko walked into the kitchen and came out a few minutes later with a bag of ice. She sighed and placed the bag on his eye. He watched with one eye as she tended him. He realized how great of a girl she was to put up with him for all these years. Like he always did, he felt bad for treating her so horribly. But he couldn't help it! If Koenma would just give him a break, maybe he could spend some time with this marvelous girl.

"I really wish you would stop coming home hurt like this, Yuusuke." Keiko sighed.

He laughed, "This is nothing compared to what happened to the other guy."

"Yuusuke!"

He smirked. That wolf would be going home with a very charred tail between his legs. The fight had been uneventful. He had confronted the group, the wolf confronted him, the wolf was blasted with a heavy douse of his spirit gun. The rest of the group managed to get away, but not before he got a good look at them.

A happy family they seemed to be. A man with dark hair in a short ponytail, with purple eyes. Was that his natural eye color, or contacts? Then there was a very attractive young woman with blue eyes and long black hair. A boy that couldn't be older than twelve. Then there was a wolf that managed to catch him off guard. Stupid wolf.

That group had an amazing energy output, but he couldn't figure out type of energy that the man and girl had. The boy didn't have much energy at all, just a lot of strength. That wolf wasn't all that strong in his jyaki either. This brought him to his current thought.

Why were there Youkai in Ningenkai, other than Kurama and Hiei, and Koenma not tell them about it? Everything about this situation seemed off. The Youkai, the lack of information, and Koenma's recent attitude problem.

……………………………………………..

Hiei smirked, did the Taiyoukai have no idea what was in that vial? Sure it would help the woman alright- _Good thing too, damn human won't shut up_- but it would cause many more problems than solve. It would have been better if the woman would have died like she was supposed to. But no, the Dog Prince had to bring in Sakashima potion.

Again, he asked whether or not the Taiyoukai knew what he was doing. That potion would put the physical sickness into her mind. The worse the physical sickness, the worse the mental would be. It was foolish to do something like that. Then again, dogs never were the smartest of creatures.

He wondered if he should bring this to the attention to Koenma. There were unauthorized Youkai in the land of humans. This could cause a serious uproar in Spirit World.

It was so tempting to hand them over.

If he had a conscience, he would have kept his mouth shut about the ordeal. If he was kind, he wouldn't alert Kurama of his findings.

Unfortunately for this group, he didn't have a conscience. And he sure as hell wasn't kind either.

…………………………………………………………..

Sango walked down the street alone, still in her taijiya outfit, not really going anywhere in particular. She needed the cold air to clear her head. She had left shortly after Kagome returned. She wasn't needed there. They were grieving. It was sure what the outcome would be. She had no place being there.

Part of her wanted so badly to be with Kikyou, but the miko's family needed this time. With luck, and hope, Kikyou would be alright. She would live through this. Surely Kikyou could pull this off, she was so strong. It seemed wrong that this was happening.

No.

It _was_ wrong. Kikyou, who had slain hundreds, was perishing. The Kikyou that held such compassion and kindness, would cease to exist. She would be a memory, and that's all she would be. It was _completely_ wrong.

She was using this time to reflect on everything that had happened….

Until she bumped into someone; she barely had enough time to save herself from making a complete fool of herself. She looked up at the wall of a person she had collided with.

"_Kurama_?"

"Good evening, Sango."

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Woh, please forgive me for taking so long to write this! It was difficult to try to work it all together, and the groups haven't met! Well they sort of have, but not really. Don't worry the meeting will be coming soon. Along with hopefully another chapter : ) As always thanks for reading!

xImoutox

**Review Responses**

**Fanfiction**

**Guyute24- **Yes, awesome. Thank you so much for reviewing! –glomps you!-

**Lady Lightbulb- **Ah, my fair lady. Thanks for reviewing. Yes, twists! I love twists, like those cinnamon ones and pretzels! Um… hehe. –sweatdrop- No, Kikyou didn't die…I wanted her to… but I waited… but who knows what the future holds? –raises hand I do, I do!- as always, Thank you so much for the reviews.

**Ryous-Crystal**- Thanks for the praise. I'm glad that you like it. And I'm sure that my Elfridan pals should be scared for delaying chapters. –smile- Thanks for reviewing.

**Mediaminer**

**Eris Goddess of Chaos: **The best? You're way too kind. I'm so flattered. Wow… Thank you!


	6. Chapter Six

Thank you to everybody for being so patient for me. I know this chapter took a lot of time to complete. I hope you guys like it, forgive me for taking so long to get it to you. Over a month… wow. I'm sorry. I hope you guys haven't gave up on it. So here ya go, another chap.

_Something Good_

'Well this is awkward…' Sango thought to herself.

Kurama was observing her as if she was a newly discovered plant, and it was making her really uncomfortable. A few tries to get away from him had proved useless. Was there no stopping this guy? She really didn't feel like conversation at the moment. Her mind was still concentrated on Kikyou so much that she could barely focus on anything else.

Sango looked around for an exit, while Kurama went on speaking.

"Have you been to a cosplay convention?" he asked.

She arched an eyebrow, "No… why would you say that?"

Over Kurama's shoulder, Sango could have sworn she saw a flash of something in the distance. She looked again, and it was gone.

He grinned, "That's quite an unusual outfit you have on. I believe I may have seen it somewhere before, but I can't place where."

Sango squinted over Kurama's shoulder again, trying to find out what that flash was. "It's just my slayer's suit." She blurted, then clapped a hand over her mouth. She didn't mean to say that… damn that flashy thing for distracting her.

Kurama looked at her odd, trying to figure out what she meant. She tried to turn away from him, but he grabbed her wrist, swiftly halting her movement. He was curious, and there was no stopping a curious fox once it got its attention sparked.

"Your what?" he asked.

"Um… exercising suit?" she lied.

He glared at her, "That isn't what you said."

"If you already knew what I said, why did you ask?" she said, "Well the truth is, it's a bit embarrassing…"

Kurama waited, "Try me, I've probably heard of worse."

If Sango had brought her Hiraikotsu with her, he would be singing a very different tune. He would also be sporting a vicious bruise, she briefly wondered if purple was his color. If she told him anything, Sesshoumaru would have her head. Sango was in a bit of a bind here. After thinking a bit, she decided that the truth was stranger than fiction. This would definitely throw him for a loop.

She closed her eyes, "This is my slayer suit. I slay demons."

When she opened her eyes again, she looked at a blank expression on Kurama's face.

"So do I." he told her flippantly.

She glared. That wasn't supposed to happen. "Let me guess, afterwards you fly your spaceship around the block a few times?" she scoffed, "I wasn't joking! I really do slay demons!"

"I wasn't joking either!" He said.

"If you didn't believe me you could have just said that, not make up some stupid story to make me feel less crazy." She huffed. "I'm…"

A deep baritone voice sounded behind her, "…a little late coming home, don't you think Sango?"

She turned around to face a very bloody wolf demon. Kouga had his arms crossed over his chest and wasn't looking pleased at all. "It's awfully late to be chatting with strange men on the streets, you should come home. Now."

Sango scrunched her nose, "What happened to you? You look like you lost a fight with a lawnmower."

"You needn't worry 'bout that. I'll tell you all about it later, once we get you home." Kouga wrapped his arm around Sango's shoulder, "Now, say goodbye to your friend, and we'll be off."

Kurama looked at the two suspiciously. "I guess there's no stopping a wolf once he has his mind made up."

Sango's eyes widened, "Wolf?"

"Watch it fox-boy, or I'll tear out your teeth." Kouga growled.

"Fox?"

"I harbor no ill will towards you. But if you're searching for a fight… another one… then I assure you, I don't fear wolves." Kurama told him. He sniffed the air, trying to figure out the power-smell that was coming off the wolf. He placed it. "I see you've met Yuusuke. He doesn't have the best mouth, but he does know how to get the job done."

"Who?

Kouga growled loudly.

Kurama smirked, "Sango, you'd best tear your wolf away before he gets hurt. I wouldn't want a lady seeing something as brutal as a friend of hers dying at my hands."

"I'd kick your ass from here to next week, you damn kitsune." Kouga growled.

"What's going on here?" Sango wondered out loud. Kurama _knew_ what Kouga was? Kurama was a _fox? _Who in the world was Yuusuke?

"We're leaving." Kouga pointed at Kurama, "Don't you think this is because of your cheap threat, I'm not scared of you either!"

"I wouldn't imagine it." Kurama told him calmly, "I figure we'll be meeting again. I'll see you around, Sango. Live the rest of your days happily, wolf."

He turned and walked away from them. He grinned, this was going to be interesting. The case he was sent on was going to be completed in no time. At least now he had an idea of who the culprits were, looked like Yuusuke had some idea too. He'd go over to Yuusuke's apartment and wait to see if Hiei had any information. He congratulated himself on a productive night.

Sango punched Kouga's arm. "You idiot!"

"I'm an idiot? I didn't tell him all about _my_ personal life. Oh yeah that's right, that was _your_ job!" he said angrily.

"It was _you_ in the distance, am I right? If you hadn't distracted me, I wouldn't have said anything! It's all your fault, Kouga!" she spat.

He rolled his eyes, "You're delusional, woman! I came from behind you, not in front! Whatever you saw wasn't me."

"Oooh...! You should have just stayed out of it."

Kouga laughed, "Yeah, since you were doing such a good job on your own."

"Stupid wolf."

"Damn woman."

OoOoOoO

Yuusuke was lounging on his couch, recovering from his wounds and eating up the extra attention Keiko was giving him. That was one of the things he enjoyed most about getting injured, Keiko worrying over him. Ah, life was great.

A knock sounded at the door. Well life _was _great…

Keiko answered the door, opening it to reveal Kurama. "Good to see you Kurama! Please come in."

"Please don't…" Yuusuke mumbled under his breath. "If this has anything to do with the case, I'm not interested."

Kurama sat down on the chair adjacent the couch Yuusuke was lying on. He smiled at him. He was almost worried that Yuusuke was seriously hurt, but his suspicions had proven incorrect.

"I heard you had a run-in with a wolf." Kurama began, "But it seems he wound up with the worse end of the deal."

Yuusuke laughed, "Told ya so, didn't I Keiko?"

Keiko glared at the two, "Don't tell me you're encouraging him, Kurama."

He shook his head, "I did nothing of the sort."

Keiko sighed and sat down next to Yuusuke. He only had a few bruises—a particularly nasty one on his face—but he'd survive. Even if he did die, they'd be able to bring him back. After all, he was Yuusuke, and Yuusuke just didn't know how to stay dead anyway.

"I did run into your wolf friend, but I'd like to know if you found anything else unusual." Kurama stated.

Yuusuke huffed, "If you think three humans hanging around a youkai is unusual, yeah, I'd say I found something pretty damn unusual."

Kurama arched an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"A guy, a girl, a kid, a wolf. Unusual. Don't wolf youkai _eat_ humans? I don't know why one would be friends with them." Yuusuke told him, "There was something weird with the two teens, a strong energy, but they were gone before I could place it."

"How convenient." Kurama groaned, "At least you found something. I was also productive, I found a girl who claims to be a demon slayer, and a very strong youkai before that."

"Looks like we have our group all found out." Yuusuke said.

Kurama could feel his mental barriers being breached, 'What is it Hiei?'

'_I'm at their fortress… if you can call it that. This is a pathetic group, Kurama. If the idiot is done feeling sorry for himself, you should come over here.'_

'Where are you?'

'_A holy shrine a few miles west from you, look for a large, old tree.'_

'Do you think it wise to ambush them in their own territory?'

'_I don't care.'_

'Hiei!'

'_Just get over here.'_

Kurama looked at Yuusuke, "You're fine, we need to go. Hiei's found something he thinks is worth us looking at."

"No way. I'm not going anywhere. And just how can you guys do that anyway? Its creepy."

"Do you want this case over with, or not?" Kurama asked.

Yuusuke rolled his eyes and got up. This wasn't the way he imagined this week going. Koenma just had to get in the middle of things again. Keiko was at her last wits with him, maybe the Gods just didn't want him to get married right now. It was obvious at least one of them didn't.

"Hiei seems excited about this." Kurama told him, walking out onto the street.

"At least someone is excited about all this, I don't see the point in it. Koenma should be glad that these people are loose, not try to round them up. We aren't sheep dogs, Kurama, this is all bull." Yuusuke said, following him.

Yuusuke found the ground an interesting thing. He kicked a rock and watched as it bounced away from him.

"It better be something good." Yuusuke grumbled.

OoOoOoOo

Possible bloodshed. Hiei could have danced. Except that he was in a tree, and Hiei just didn't dance. It was a disgusting human habit that he wouldn't indulge in. He was ready to kill something. Months of boredom and a night of stakeout in a tree was enough to drive him insane, if he wasn't half there already.

He smirked, they were weak now. Normally he wouldn't attack anyone at their own residence, but this was a perfect opportunity. He would take the Taiyoukai. He had heard great things about the Dog Lord, but he hardly thought that he would be a match for himself.

They would be a bit outnumbered, but the odds were in their favor. It was late, and dark. Any confrontation would be held outside; the humans would be at a disadvantage, leaving the youkai to protect the worthless creatures.

His katana was just begging to be let out of the sheath, begging to cut something into tiny pieces. The dragon on his arm pulsed, feeling the excitement of the impending battle. The Jagan was heating up as if to burn the bandana off his forehead, preparing to be used at any given moment. His knuckles wound around the hilt of his katana, ready to draw it out. He felt his lips curve ever-so-slightly. His fangs gleamed in the darkness.

Every moment that he had been inactive in the past had caught up with him. He _needed_ this. He could almost smell the blood. He could almost feel the burning in his lungs; almost feel the wind rushing through his hair from his fast pace. He could almost hear the clang of metal against metal, then the satisfaction of hearing his katana slice through flesh.

Of all the things he sliced through, flesh was the one that sounded the best. It separated cleanly for his blade, it was like cutting through butter. It sounded magnificent to his ears. Like a bloody orchestra at his disposal, the gurgles, splashes, and slices, all music.

Hiei could hardly wait for Kurama to show up, the minutes it would take Kurama to get to him would seem like hours to him. He wanted to fight, he wanted a challenge. The Taiyoukai would be a nice target indeed. He didn't want to be disappointed, this had better be something good.

OoOoO

Sesshoumaru sniffed the air, sensing that something was amiss. An energy surge a few seconds ago hadn't passed. It was obvious that the source was not from the occupants of the house, he knew his girls didn't possess anything as strong as that, and it was idiotic to assume his men did either.

He couldn't recognize the energy-signature at all, which was unusual for a youkai being around as long as he was. If the user was threatening him, they would soon find out how deadly a mistake that turned out to be. Nobody was a match for Sesshoumaru, most opponents found that out the hard way. This would be no different.

He stood up, taking the Toukijin out, preparing to protect his team of misfits if they could not protect themselves. If this was a trick of Naraku's, it would be dealt with as always. Quickly find out the source and ending the problem, for that was all Naraku was worth—ending.

Inuyasha looked over at his brother. "Don't you think it's a little late to be cleaning that thing?"

Sesshoumaru answered with a glare. "Get prepared."

Inuyasha took the hint, readying Tetsusaiga, "This better be good."

**_Lady Lightbulb-_**Much thanks, happy you like the twists I keep putting in. As always, thanks so much for reviewing.

**Cookiiex- **:) thank you

**Guyute24- **Thank you for the review. I'm glad that I managed to keep Hiei in character, he's a pretty set character and people often butcher his attitude in fics, glad I'm doing all right.

Mediaminer:

**Rose Fury: **Yay! I've converted someone! I'm glad you like my story, thank you so much!

**Inuyashaandyuyuhakusho: **Wow, Thank you! And your welcome, and here's another chapter.


	7. Chapter Seven

Here is the latest installment of Adding Spice! (the long… long awaited one)

Her eyes were bloodshot from sleep deprivation, and the large purple bags under them didn't look too attractive. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. She didn't want to do anything but collapse. Unfortunately, her job was demanding. It called for her to do what was needed, regardless of what she desired. She was so tired, so very tired. Her eyes were hurting, wanting to be closed. Her limbs weren't agreeing with her. She just wanted to kill what was threatening her team and be done with it.

Hefting the Hiraikotsu over her back was difficult, making her stumble just the slightest bit. She inwardly cursed whatever God that had bestowed her with such horrible luck. A fight at two in the morning was not appreciated in the least bit. She'd have to pay back whoever was responsible for this.

She could have easily avoided the confrontation with Kurama, and could have got a bit more sleep, if she had just stayed home and not went out walking. She wondered if she had done something awful to someone, and this was karma's way of paying her back. Maybe it was those forty-seven times she hit Miroku with her Hiraikotsu last week. Wait… Miroku was up too, so maybe he was being punished for all the groping he did.

She looked over at the Youkai group with envious eyes. They could go days without sleeping, it wasn't a dependency for them as it was for her. She would have growled, but it seemed that Inuyasha had already taken that position. She settled for scowling a bit, letting anger seep in. A little anger would motivate her to be stronger in battle. These people were invading their territory, it would not go unpunished.

She looked over at her human companions. They weren't doing so well themselves. Kagome was doing her best to keep herself together, but she was failing miserably. Miroku was standing tall –like always—but you could tell by his face that he was worn. Kohaku, having just been woken up, had horrible bed-head hair and looked as if he would fall asleep standing up. Her heart twisted when she realized that they were one human short.

Kikyou was unconscious upstairs, healing. She had been relieved to hear that she would make it. She didn't listen too much else that was said; she didn't care, Kikyou was going to live and that was all that mattered. That fact alone, however, didn't make her feel any better about the upcoming confrontation. She would have been more confident if the older, calmer Higurashi sister was with them.

Kagome walked to stand next to her. Sango gave her a look of sympathy. Hugging her friend briefly, she whispered that everything would be okay. If she was concerned about Kikyou, how much more so was Kagome?

Her friend gave her a smile. It was the kind of smile that Kagome gave for encouragement. Oh how Sango hated those smiles, those fake little smiles meant to make others happy. Those smiles were the only kind of lies Kagome was capable of.

"Do you have your bow and arrows?" she asked her friend.

Kagome nodded, and lifted her quiver for Sango to see, "Yep. It's all ready."

"Good, then that's everybody." She turned to their boss, "Sesshoumaru, we're set."

He didn't look at her, but he nodded. "Soon."

"The hell is 'soon' supposed'ta mean?" Inuyasha asked, "You mean we're gonna wait for them to come to us? Damnit Sesshoumaru! There are kids here! Just because you lost yours doesn't mean you have the right…"

Inuyasha's speech was halted by Sesshoumaru crushing his windpipe. He was raised a few feet in the air. The glare on their leaders face could have put anyone six-feet-under.

Sesshoumaru spoke coldly, "It appears that you cannot use your brain and your mouth at the same time. Never mention Rin—not in, or out—of my presence." He added more pressure to accentuate his point, "You will _not_ speak of that_ ever_ again."

After Inuyasha did the best he could at nodding, he was swiftly tossed to the ground. He growled out a quick 'bastard', before brushing himself off and standing. Sesshoumaru's fingers started to glow a light green. The group cringed when a loud crackling sound was heard before Inuyasha was back on the floor, this time with Tokijin pointed at his throat.

"One day, I'll kill you. That mouth will only speed up the process." Sesshoumaru bit out. He sheathed Toukijin, and turned away from Inuyasha.

Sango rolled her eyes, they were always fighting. At least that sort of woke her up. For a second she thought that Inuyasha would be getting his tongue cut out. It was only a matter of time until Sesshoumaru ended up seriously damaging him… again. She remembered a time that Sesshoumaru got so angry that he stuck his hand straight through Inuyasha's stomach, now _that_ was _not_ a pretty sight. Those two took sibling rivalry to new heights.

"Sesshoumaru," Miroku broke the silence, "I hate to agree with Inuyasha, but I don't think it's wise to wait for them to come to us. We have children and an injured woman here. We shouldn't take unnecessary risks."

"I know you did _not_ just question this Sesshoumaru." Sesshoumaru growled.

Miroku put his hands up in a peace offering, trying to avoid getting his head getting cut off, "Not at all!"

Sango noticed how much irritable Sesshoumaru had been these past few days. They were having an increasingly hard time trying to find Naraku, and it was getting to them all. Of course, they had found plenty of Naraku's puppets and minions, but no Naraku. He always seemed to slip out of their grasp just as soon as they thought they had him.

A few months ago, Naraku jumped to a priority on their list. Rin, Sesshoumaru's ward, had been abducted by him. A week later, they had gotten her severed hand dropped off on their doorstep. It was war from then on out.

Rin was the only person Sesshoumaru had shown at small amount of kindness to. Nobody was sure why the small homeless girl had caught his attention in the first place, but he had taken her under his wing after he caught sight of her. She must have been only six or seven years old. When it was obvious that she had been killed by Naraku, Sesshoumaru had to be half-purified to keep him from transforming. He had disappeared for days, reappearing in the Goshinboku empty handed.

Now they had someone else threatening them. With the added stress of Naraku, nobody was in a good mood. They just wanted to kill something and be done with it.

Luckily, there was a knock at the door a few seconds later. Everybody shared a look, and since Kouga was the closest one, he answered the door.

The guest looked at Kouga for a second before laughing and calling behind him, "Hey, Kurama, you were right! He _did _get more messed up than I did!"

"Kurama…?" Sango said. She pushed her way past Kouga and the other boy to look at the smiling red-head. "What are you doing here?"

The boy that was previously having a glaring contest with Kouga backed up to grin at her. "We're here to collect you, girly."

"Yuusuke, don't be brash." Kurama warned.

He shrugged, "Well, we _are_. No use lying."

Inuyasha brushed past Kouga to plow into Yuusuke. "The hell is this collecting stuff?"

Sango rolled her eyes. She was kept awake for this? Ridiculous. From what Kouga had told her, Kurama was a demon. Yuusuke had a type of attack similar to Kagome's, but different. He couldn't describe how it was different, just that it was. Kouga knew all about power attacks. (Afterall, he'd been hit with enough of them.)

Even with Kurama's demonic powers and Yuusuke's power, the two alone wouldn't be a match for the eight of them. She would have laughed had she had the energy.

Sango grew bored of Inuyasha's grilling of Yuusuke for information, so her eyes wandered elsewhere. She saw Sesshoumaru looking up in the Goshinboku with a bored expression on his face. His mouth was moving, but she couldn't hear him talking.

Kurama walked over to her, "It seems he has found Hiei."

Sango brought her Hiraikotsu up, "What are you?"

"A puppet of Reikai." He shrugged, "I'm not too sure myself."

She glared at him, "That isn't what I meant. Are you an enemy or an ally?"

He fidgeted with the hair in the back of his head, "Neither. I'm just doing my job."

"What is your job?" she asked.

"You could say I'm the assistant of a Spirit Detective, Yuusuke. Or at least it used to be that way, it'll change soon, he's not getting any younger. I'm not hindered by such limitations." He told her.

"You're twisting my words. You know what I meant."

"Very well," Kurama sighed, "As Yuusuke said, we're here to collect you. Your group has been causing nothing but trouble for some time now, and Reikai wants to put a stop to it."

"Causing nothing but trouble?" Sango asked, "We've been the ones fixing the trouble!"

"Not by our accounts. You should do yourself a favor and come quietly. It will make everybody's life a lot easier, you know." He pulled out a rose from his hair.

"A rose?" she sighed, "I really wish people would stop giving me roses! I like lilies."

"Nice to know," Kurama said, "But I'm not giving you this rose. You have a weapon, its only fair for me to have my own."

"You're going to fight me with a rose?" she raised an eyebrow.

Her head turned when she heard Inuyasha's snickering. He had dropped Yuusuke when a more interesting scene started taking place. Because of his move, everybody was now watching them. With the exception of Sesshoumaru, who was still talking to… Hiei? What was a Hiei?

"That's the most original weapon I've ever seen," Inuyasha snickered again, "But I doubt it's going to do you any good."

"Hey, he could kick my ass with that rose!" Yuusuke defended his friend, barely noticing he was insulting himself in the same breath.

Ayame, who had been uncharacteristically quiet up until then, said, "I've heard of that type of weapon before… You wouldn't be Youko!"

Kagome, Miroku, and Kohaku stood behind them, completely lost.

"Who's Youko?" Kagome asked.

Kouga growled, "Impossible, Youko's been dead for years. He was caught by a hunter in the Makai."

Kurama looked at them briefly, "You are mistaken, I was not killed, I merely transferred myself into a suitable human body to preserve my own life."

Sango's eyes widened, "You're an avatar?"

Kurama turned to smile at her, "You've heard of this before?"

Sango didn't answer him. Becoming an avatar was tricky business. The soul has to stay 'alive' long enough to find a suitable body to live in until the time was right to return to their own body. As with a heart, the body could reject the intruding soul, thus killing both the host and the intruder. If he could manage to stay away from 'Grim Reapers' long enough to find a host, and stay inside the host, she had vastly underestimated him.

"Sango, whilst thou spar with me?" Kurama asked with a grin.

"Don't think you can get me to fight with Old English."

"I know how to treat a lady, it's rude to just attack without fair warning to those of such delicacy."

Before she could retort, the clashing of metal made her look towards the Goshinboku. What she saw made her already hurting eyes want to fall out of her sockets. A white blur, which she had come to know was Sesshoumaru, was battling a smaller black blur. The ringing of metal constantly meeting metal made her head spin. She put her hands up to her ears to try to block out the sound, she squeezed her eyes shut. All would have been well, but a hand grasped her wrists, pulling them from her. They didn't release her.

"Tsk, Tsk." Kurama teased, "You know, that's one of the worst things you can do."

Sango's head was still hurting. "Huh?" was her ever intelligent response.

"Turning away from your opponent, Sango." He shifted her wrists to one of his hands. Using his now free hand, he quickly wrapped a vine around her imprisoned wrists.

He let her go, watching as the spell on the vine began to take affect. "You should be feeling a bit drowsy…" Was the last thing Sango heard before losing her consciousness.

'One down' Kurama thought to himself. 'Six to go; the two wolves, the three humans, the dog.'

Kagome ran over to Sango, "What did you do to her!"

"You all are making this far too easy." He looked over at his partner, "Yuusuke, now!"

Yuusuke jumped away and put a mask on his face just as Kurama released yellow powder into the air. "Won't do much good against demons, but…"

"Humans have a weakness to that stuff!" Yuusuke finished, "Sleeping toxin. Not too deadly in small amounts."

Inuyasha stumbled to keep his balance, his half human side was fighting it. 'I've had enough with powder to last me a lifetime! First Kikyou and now…!'

"I'm going to kill you!" Inuyasha shouted at Kurama while his human friends fell asleep at his feet. He brought Tetsusaiga up to make an attack, "Wind scaaa…."

A blue blast hit his sword, knocking it from his hands. He turned to the source and growled.

Yuusuke had his hands mimicking a gun, "No way, puppy. The wolf wasn't much of a challenge, but you seem like the sort of type that might be."

He changed his hand positions, one hand was in a fist, the other was wrapped around the opposite wrist. "I got a girl waitin' for me at home, let's make this quick… Shotgun!"

A blast of blue 'bullets' came from his arm, knocking Kouga and Ayame out. Inuyasha jumped just in time to avoid most of the blows, blocking the rest of them with his fire-rat robe. How could they have been defeated so easily? They outnumbered the othersat least fourfold. It didn't make any sense!

Inuyasha was still stumbling from that obnoxious powder in the air. He fought it off the best he could, refusing to submit to it. Without the Tetsusaiga, his demon blood was fighting for dominance. It was trying to protect itself. He had to save his group, his pack. He couldn't fight it anymore. Jagged purple lines appeared on his face, his sight clouded over in a red haze. He could feel the pain of his teeth and claws growing. He felt himself growling, but couldn't hear it over the blood pumping in his ears and the ever-present sword fighting behind him.

He saw his opponent coming closer, but since the boys legs weren't moving, it was obviously himself rushing towards the unsuspecting fool. This nuisance had took out two of his pack in front of his eyes, he was going to kill him. He would rip and tear every bit of him apart. Inuyasha was scared of these thoughts, but couldn't help them flooding in. He wasn't in control of anything when his demon side won over. He hated how it separated his very being, such as on his human nights. But this wasn't the time for such thoughts, because he had just gotten blasted with a very powerful attack.

He couldn't see it, neither could his Youkai. It was powerful, and it hurt. Why couldn't he see it? His red sight saw the boy with his arms up in the same gun position it was before. His arms were moving with the force of shooting off an unseen attack. The boy's lips were moving, yelling, by the looks of it.

He could smell the human's blood He felt the warm sticky liquid on his hands. He had sliced at the boy and broke skin. If he felt it right, he broke a lot of skin, and deeply. If he were in control of his body, he would have vomited. Instead, he grinned. Just inches away from his fingers, lay the boys beating heart. He only had to dig just a bit deeper. Only a little bit further in…!

He was thrust back so fast he didn't even know what hit him. There were a lot of sharp things digging in, in a clean circle around his torso. Something was wrapped around him, and it was only wrapping itself tighter and tighter, almost cutting off his breath. Good thing Youkai didn't need to breathe.

His claws cut clean through the thorn-vine. It registered in the still thinking part of him that it would have been green, but all he could see was red. Solid red color dark red outlines, and much to his delight, the blood red color of the liquid staining his hands.

He slashed in the direction of the torn-wielder. He felt his mouth moving, and his voice forming words, but he couldn't hear what he was saying. The demon was completely in control now, even to the point that it was speaking for itself. This was far too dangerous, he had to get out of this!

He slashed again, aiming for the thorn-wielders neck. He missed, coming in contact instead with a fine soft substance. It fell at the thorn-wielders feet. He didn't pay any attention to it, noticing only that there was something different about the fox, but not placing it.

Again he was shot at from the side by an unseen attack. Didn't that boy realize that those damn attacks _hurt? _That boy shouldn't be able to move after having Inuyasha's hand so far in his chest. So the boy was powerful, what a coincidence, so was he. Maybe this time he'd show the boy who was better by succeeding in ripping out the boy's heart.

He hated himself. He wanted things he didn't want. He enjoyed things he didn't enjoy. He wanted to kill, but he didn't. He was powerless to his youkai, and couldn't do a damn thing about it. It was aggravating. He had to suffer through it, having a double personality, a triple if you counted his human side. He didn't let his youkai in control much often, and he was very quickly reminded just why.

While he was fighting himself, the thorn-weilder wrapped his thorn-vine around Inuyasha's neck, threatening to cut his head clean off. Inuyasha struggled against it, but couldn't get a hold of it. If he sliced through the vine and underestimated his own strength, he could seriously damage himself. Not that his youkai cared. He just couldn't get a good grip on it. He still felt the constant punches of the unseen attack. The thought crossed his mind that they were trying to kill him now. Another was that they would succeed.

His red-sight changed to black. Either he had closed his eyes, or he was finally dead. A second later and all he could see was white. His eyes focused and looked up at Sesshoumaru, who held the thorn-wielder's vine in his one of his hands, and a bloody Toukijin in the other.

He could see the thorn-wielder clearly now. The red-haired Kitsune was on his knees, bowing to the Dog Prince. The boy was out cold, having passed out from blood-loss. Inuyasha noticed the huge hole in the boy's chest with disgust. He had almost taken his heart. He had _wanted_ to take the boy's heart. He shuddered violently, and finally gave into his impulse to release everything in his stomach.

Regaining his composure, he looked at the Kitsune, finally placing what was off. His shirt for one, had been sliced clean off his body. Three claw marks had made its way on his chest. He looked a little higher, a bruised jaw. A little to the left and…

He was going to die of laughter. That beautiful hair of Kuramas had just gotten a lovely little cut. The red hair that was formerly down to his mid-back was now at his shoulders. That explains the silky texture and the pure rage from the thorn-wielder. Poor guy. Inuyasha pitied him. It was hard keeping hair as long as his, he would be enraged had some of it managed to… disengage itself. He chuckled a little more when the Kitsune growled at him.

Sesshoumaru pointed at the Goshinboku, where a defeated Hiei was crumpled against the tree. Inuyasha could see that he was breathing, so Sesshoumaru must have been feeling generous tonight. That was how you looked at it though. Sesshoumaru was the Prince of the Dogs, the leader of the Western Provinces in the Makai. If Makai rules were followed properly, which they always were with Sesshoumaru, that black-clad demon would be having a rather rude awakening.

"Gather your friend," he told Kurama, "Tell your employer that this was a failed mission, _detective._ I'm sure that Enma knows the rules of the Makai. The Koorime's life was spared by this Sesshoumaru, his life now belongs to this Sesshoumaru. Such is yours as well."

Kurama nodded.

"Do not forget Kitsune. Had you not tried to end the life that was mine to end, you would have been spared of this fate. I could have easily disposed of you, Kitsune, but I decided to make things a bit more interesting."

Kurama pulled out a purple…make-up container? He opened it, "Botan, I need a portal, and a healer as soon as we get there." He closed it without another word. He walked over to get Hiei, and then stood next to the unconscious Yuusuke. He was growling, clearly showing he was unhappy about the recent turn of events.

A cheery ferry-girl showed up and rushed the three into the portal, then disappeared without a trace.

"Get the pack inside." Sesshoumaru told his brother, then he walked into the house.

Inuyasha wasn't too sure what had happened. From what he pieced together, he must have fainted. During that time, Sesshoumaru must have finished up. Obviously he had defeated both Hiei and Kurama. Why he kept them alive was a mystery to him.

Under Makai law, it was a life for a life. If one had saved your life, you would be in their debt. If one could have killed you, would have killed you, but didn't, the same would apply.

He went to his task of carrying the injured into the house, thinking one thought and chuckling to himself.

'Sesshoumaru is a sadistic bastard.'

* * *

It was so much fun writing Inuyasha in demon form: ) I just got so into it that I couldn't bring myself to stop anytime soon. I think I might have been seeing red for a little while there too, still might be. Even if the others go down in seconds, Inuyasha is tough-stuff, fights until he can't. I'm trying to keep this story true to everybody's character.

Sorry that this took so long. I pictured the fight a lot differently, but I couldn't manage to put it into words, so I changed it around and it became something entirely different. I know that the whole Sango-Kurama is really hard to see at this point (I can't help it. I'm not of a SanKur writer, yeah I know 'excuses, excuses') oh, sorry kurama fans! (I'm just cutting everybody's hair lately. :D

Review Responses-

**_Guyute24_**: Your reviews keep me going! Thank you so much!

**Sweet-thing-88**: There was so much energy in your review, I'm glad you like my story so much, thanks for the review.

**Cookiiex**: Thank you!

**_Lady Lightbulb: _**Your reviews keep me going as well! Thank you for the positive feedback, I'm really glad that you've been enjoying the story. (Looks like your prediction came true too! –wink-)

-Special thanks to **_Guyute24_** and **_Lady Lightbulb_**, who have reviewed every chapter up until now-

If anybody is interested, I need a beta for this story. If you want, just drop me an e-mail… or review or something.


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Sango normally awoke with a great amount of pain. It was typical for her to wake up with a certain amount of soreness to her limbs. Today, however, the only pain she felt was the blinding migraine throbbing in her head. The light coming from the window across from her wasn't helping any.

She tried to stand up to shut the blinds when the thought occurred to her on how she got into bed in the first place. It hadn't occurred to her to wonder how she had gotten to bed in the first place, until she stood to shut the blinds. Whoever put her there should have been smart enough to close the blinds.

She recognized the room. She had stayed there a great many times in the past. It was the Higurashi guest room. No surprise there, after battles she would often crash there. Last night there was a battle… or something similar to it.

She remembered Kurama telling her something about not turning away from an opponent, but other than that, nothing. Kurama was becoming quite a puzzle. She didn't know him very well to begin with, but now he was becoming more confusing. At least he was a beautiful puzzle. If she couldn't figure him out, the least she could do was just enjoy looking at him. She sighed at the thought of his long, flowing red hair. She had envied it upon laying her eyes on it a few days ago in the park.

She sighed again, trying to sort through her thoughts. Kurama tried to capture them… didn't he? Obviously he didn't succeed, or she would have woken up somewhere else. She wondered how many pieces of him she'd find while venturing into the front yard. Sesshoumaru wasn't fond of attempted kidnappings as of late, and he certainly didn't appreciate it if the people were attempting to kidnap what was his. It seemed she was no longer her own person when she started working under Sesshoumaru. None of them were their own anymore. Sango found it odd that nobody seemed to mind.

So, she decided the ruthless Sesshoumaru had chopped Kurama into dog treats. A pity too, the guy had really good hair. She laughed, realizing that she was spending way too much time with Ayame. That girl probably only fancied Kouga because he had pretty hair, but she could get downright morbid when she was mad at the poor guy.

The door opened slightly, and Kohaku stepped in.

"Hey!" he said, much too loudly for Sango. "You're awake, and you look like hell."

"Watch your mouth," she hissed. "And it's because I feel like hell, thank you."

He rolled his eyes. "Watch your mouth, she says."

"That's right. Do as I say, not as I do." She rubbed her temples. "Now do as I say, and get me a glass of water and a painkiller."

"Oh yes, sister Sango," he said as he bowed dramatically, "Anything for my dear hypocrite."

Sango brought up her fist to thump the top of his head, mid bow. "Go on, get me something strong."

In no time, he was out the door and back again with her aspirin.

"That Kurama is a weird guy," Kohaku said after she downed the pill.

"I know," she said softly.

"You think that's what he was after the entire time? Like when he came to the park, do you think he was just testing us? I think he's messing with our heads." He paused, "In my case, my poor abused head."

She thumped him again for good measure.

"We're weird too," Sango replied.

"I know," Kohaku said. "You're weirder."

"I am not," she huffed.

"Oh, then you're just different?"

"We're all different," she said. "How many other boys your age carry around chain-scythes?"

He thought for a minute. "I think scythes are cool. Grim Reapers have them."

"Have you ever met a Grim Reaper?"

"No, but when I do, I'll challenge him to a scythe-duel."

"I think I'll hold you to that," Sango told him.

"You do that," he said.

Sango smiled. He was being normal again. He was so plagued by dreams that even playful banter seemed too difficult for him. She was glad that he was somewhat back to the way he used to be. He was a good-natured and overall happy kid. It hurt to see him so withdrawn all the time. Things would be all right, she decided.

"Something smells good…" she mused.

"Mrs. Higurashi is cooking a lunch. It's sort of late for lunch, but I suppose she's stressed. She always cooks when she's not happy."

"A late lunch…Kohaku, what time is it?" Sango asked.

"It's about two-thirty. I was starting to think you'd never wake up." He laughed.

Sango was fully awake now. It was already that late? Her whole clock would be off.

"You know… Kurama's friend is weird, too." Kohaku said.

"Who?" she raised an eyebrow.

Kohaku shrugged, "The guy with black hair. He's only as tall as Souta. I didn't think it was possible for short people to look down on others. You really do learn something new everyday."

He was laughing, which made Sango smile. It wasn't often that Kohaku laughed. She wondered who this short guy was.

"Who is he?" she asked.

Kohaku shrugged again. "I'm not sure, but he and Kurama have been here all day."

Sango paled. "Tell me you're joking!"

"You told me never to lie to you," he told her. "Like I said, they've been here all day."

"Why?"

He laughed again, "Twenty questions is my job! Besides, I don't know."

Mrs. Higurashi's yell was heard throughout the house. Whatever she was cooking was now ready to be served. It seemed that nothing pleased Mrs. Higurashi more than to be serving people food.

"You go on," Sango told her brother. "I'll be down in a minute."

"You're going to brush your hair aren't you?" he teased, then added in a girl-like voice, "I'm Sango, I must brush my hair for the guy who tried to kill me…"

Sango threw a pillow at him. It wasn't quite Hiraikotsu, but it was the closest weapon she could find.

"I'm going, I'm going," he said, walking out the door and leaving her alone.

Now that he mentioned it, she really did need to find her hairbrush before someone else walked in. Being caught with bed-hair was not something Sango found enjoyable. So, after she was mildly happy with her reflection, she descended into the dining room.

To say that she was shocked was an understatement. People around the table sat glaring at the other members. The tension in the air nearly suffocated her. Sesshoumaru sat at the head of the table, with Kurama and the stranger Kohaku had been talking about to either side of him. But something wasn't right…

"What's going on?" She asked.

Inuyasha smirked. "Looks like we've got ourselves a pair of servants, Sango!"

"What?"

"I'm only saying this one more time," Inuyasha started, "so all of you guys that ignored me the first time better listen up!"

The table grew silent, except from the growling that came from the demon dressed in all black.

"Look, sunshine," he continued, "there's this little rule in the Makai, that says that if someone saves—or spares—your life, you're indebted to them. So last night, while you were sleeping on the job, Sesshoumaru had these two a breath away from death. So, the old fool spared them. Lucky them, being demons and all, they gotta' listen to everything he tells 'em."

"Wait… wasn't there another of them?" Sango asked.

"You were awake that long?" Inuyasha gave her a pointed glare.

Kurama stood up, "You'll have to forgive me for that. I had a job to do. But yes, there was another one of us. He's human, for the most part; the rules don't apply to him. Hiei and I grew up in the Makai, we're well aware of our position at the moment."

Sango looked at Kurama while he was speaking and finally placed what was off about him.

"Kurama, what on earth happened to your hair!"

Inuyasha smirked. Kurama pouted.

"Sit, all of you," Sesshoumaru interrupted coolly.

Kurama clenched his hands into fists and did as he was told. Inuyasha grunted, then plopped down into his chair, while Sango found a place beside Kagome.

"We have much to discuss," Sesshoumaru said. "I don't particularly like repeating myself, which would be Inuyasha's job."

"Hey!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Quiet down!" Sesshoumaru told him. "Tonight we are, yet again, going searching for Naraku. His power is increasing quickly; it needs to be extinguished just as quickly. Sango, by eight o'clock tonight, you will have poison masks made for everyone. We will not take another unnecessary risk."

She nodded, "Of course."

"If you so much as smell Naraku, incarnation or otherwise, you will not hesitate to destroy him. Is that clear?" He asked evenly.

A chorus of agreement passed through the table. Sesshoumaru nodded, "Now eat; you'll need energy for tonight."

* * *

Kurama was relieved that Sesshoumaru wasn't as demanding as he had thought he would be. The Dog-Prince gave Kurama more freedom than another demon would have given him, and he managed to be civil about the whole thing.

The upside to this ordeal was that he would be working under someone who knew what he was doing, unlike Koenma. Sesshoumaru would give details about things, while Koenma would leave out as much information as possible. Sesshoumaru planned ahead before he struck, so he would only have to strike once. Koenma was so very different.

Kurama sighed; this level of order would take some getting used to.

He walked out into the yard, intent on sitting next to the Goshinboku. Maybe he would even talk to the tree for a while, for a small amount of comfort. It seemed, however, he would not be able to complete this goal. Hiei had taken residence in the tree too, his aura flaring viciously. Kurama would have to calm down his friend before calming down himself.

Kurama looked up at his friend, two branches above his head. "It isn't so bad."

"Hn," he said, crossing his arms.

Kurama leaned against the tree. "It could be worse."

"Explain."

"He could have us pushing a rock up a glass hill with our noses," Kurama said.

"Don't jinx us, fox."

Kurama sighed.

"I don't like it." Hiei growled, "I hate being tossed from one 'employer' to the next. I didn't have any say when Koenma had us working under him, nor when Mukuro volunteered me to be in her service. Now, I have no say in this as well. Great fun, really."

Kurama bowed his head. "I know, Hiei. This is partly our fault, we were careless."

"You were careless, fox. You and your human emotions get in the way of things every time." Hiei glared at him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kurama asked tightly.

"It means that we wouldn't be in this mess if you had listened to me in the first place!" Hiei seethed, "Your emotions got in the way with the Forlorn Hope. You saved Yuusuke when I nearly took his head off with the Shadow Sword. If you wouldn't have gotten in the way, we would never have been serving Koenma, and none of this would have happened!"

"What did you expect me to do, let you kill him?"

Hiei's eyes narrowed. "He's human, Kurama. He'll die for real someday. You save a human life, you get stuck serving time. Hn. Not worth it, fox."

"It was worth it to me," Kurama told him softly.

"You're still thinking with your human emotions," Hiei huffed.

"If you could go back, and I didn't interfere, would you still have killed Yuusuke?"

Hiei jumped off the branch. "Hn."

Kurama leaned more comfortably on the tree. "That's what I thought."

Hiei sat down next to him and glared at their surroundings. A small boy bounded out of the house, and Hiei glared at him too.

The boy tossed two metal masks at them, which they caught easily. "Sister Sango said to give these to you. She's too busy making more to give them to you herself."

"We don't need them," Hiei said, placing it down next to him.

The boy's eyes widened. "You can talk!"

"Hn."

"Tell Sango we give our thanks." Kurama smiled.

"_We_?" Hiei raised an eyebrow at him.

"You bet," the boy exclaimed. "See you later!"

Kurama watched as the boy bounded back into the house in much the same manner as he came out. He turned the metal mask in his hands, observing it. He was certain that he wouldn't need it. Whatever poison had overtaken the oldest Higurashi daughter, would not overtake him. He sighed; humans were so frail. Growing up posing as one had taught him a great deal about compassion. Maybe Hiei was right. He was letting his emotions think for him. But was that really such a bad thing?

Hiei was frowning at the mask, not liking the idea of having to wear it.

"It's an order, Hiei." Kurama told him. "And it's only for a night."

Hiei said nothing, his eyes narrowed almost to the point of shutting. Kurama didn't remember Hiei being this angry when they started working under Koenma. Koenma, of course, hadn't beaten Hiei in a duel. That was probably the reason the Koorime was seething.

"It's an improvement from our last employer," Kurama told him. "Lord Sesshoumaru seems to have control over everything."

"…Including us?"

"Yes." Kurama shrugged.

"Hn."

"I agree."

* * *

Koenma's office was scattered in papers again. He was sucking at his pacifier, and his face was just a few shades lighter than a tomato. Botan was sitting on her oar in the middle of the room. She would have stood, but her oar was convenient at the moment. She didn't want to step on any important papers, and she wanted to be able to fly out of the room if Koenma got out of control.

"We're going to get them back!" Koenma screamed.

"Sir, that's not exactly possible…" Botan told him.

"I don't care!" Koenma stamped a paper violently. "I'm the ruler of Reikai, and I have a say in what happens to my detectives!"

Botan cringed; they couldn't get Kurama and Hiei back unless they went through Lord Sesshoumaru. She preferred an angry Koenma to an angry Sesshoumaru any day.

"I had no idea the people that were causing the unbalance were working under the Dog-Prince!" Koenma nearly stamped a paper through his desk. "As soon as I can, I'm changing the Makai law!"

"But Sir, that law has been around since the barriers were first created!"

"Then I'll take down the barriers!"

Botan wanted to slap him. He was acting like a spoiled child. "Sir, listen to me! You still have Yuusuke and Kuwabara."

"They're getting old," Koenma told her stubbornly.

"They're in their prime, Sir!"

"Hmph," Koenma snorted. "Speaking of Yuusuke, how is he healing?"

Botan's shoulders softened, "Not good I'm afraid; the younger Dog nearly took out his vital organs. He's breathing, and the hole in his chest is healing, but he'll be out of the game for awhile."

"You'd think he would heal better after all the times he's been clobbered."

Botan crossed her arms. "The boy can only die so many times."

"He's fine, that's what matters," Koenma said flatly. "Tell me more about the situation with Hiei and Kurama."

Botan sighed, "By the looks of it, the only way we can get them back is if Lord Sesshoumaru releases them. Even then, they would be under no obligation to serve under Reikai standards. As soon as Lord Sesshoumaru took them into his custody, they were no longer ours by any means."

"We'll have to convince him to give them back to us, then. Hiei and Kurama may even do something stupid and steal something again, and then we'll have them back for sure!" Koenma grinned.

Botan smiled weakly. It wasn't possible to gain them back through any other means. However, it was not likely that the Dog-Prince would release them. But if he did, and Kurama and Hiei were to team up and steal something again, they would make sure they did not get caught. They were smarter than that. They learned from their mistakes. All hope for having them back shattered.

* * *

I'd like to thank my new beta, Guyute24 for editing this chapter. You really do rock.

Review Responses:

Cookiiex- Thank you for reviewing, I'm glad you like it.

Chigirl- Oh wow, thank you! Of course I'll give Sango more screen-time. She's my favorite character too.

Lady Lightbulb- I find it a little hard to write action scenes, but I'm relieved I do a good job at it. It's also a bit difficult for me to remember everybody too. I had to go back into previous chapters and see who I had in the cast. As always, thanks for reviewing.


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